KL Rahul is on the verge of completing a decade in international cricket. He has played exactly 50 Test matches and scored eight centuries, including a recent one in Centurion. But an average of 34.08 is a reflection of his unfulfilled potential as well. And, his place came under constant scrutiny. So much so that despite scoring 86 in his last appearance before an injury forced him out of the rest of the England series, he had to leave his place to his younger competitors – like Sarfaraz Khan and even Dhruv Jurel as well. But, for India captain Rohit Sharma, he is still valuable for the team.
“You don’t need to think too much about it,” he said. “Look, when we select an XI, you know, a lot of thought goes behind what people have done, what people have done for 10-15 years, how many runs they have scored in the last two or three series, what is the form and everything. What kind of experience an individual brings to the table, and who is the match winner, who can have an impact in the game more than anyone else. So, those are the things that we usually discuss and we discuss based on what we feel is right in terms of an individual player. And yeah, some things are just there in front of you, you just have to pick them up and put it in the block, as simple as that.”
Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, opened up about players’ form and its effects on them as well.
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“Look, everyone… there are only a few handful of people in world cricket who’ve had a very smooth ride,” Rohit again said. “I’m talking about since the time when cricket started, till now. The handful of cricketers who’ve had no issues all their life, it was all good. So, everyone has an up and down career. It keeps moving up and down. I think the best thing that you have to do at that point in time is just understand yourself, and understand what is expected out of me, and what do I need to bring to the table for the team.”
The India captain also shared that the messaging to KL Rahul on his role in the side has been clear, after the latter’s back move to the middle-order during the tour of South Africa as well.
“I think with KL, the kind of quality he has, everyone knows about it. And I can only talk about since I started captaining, the kind of messaging that has been given to him from our side was very simple: we wanted him to play all games. And we want him to bring the best out of him. And it is our duty as well to bring the best out of him. It’s important that we give him that clear message that this is what we expect from you. And I think we’ve done that,” he stated.
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“And since his comeback now, he’s played a great knock – he got a 100 in South Africa. Got an 80 in that first Test match in Hyderabad and then got injured unfortunately. Didn’t play any of the games after that. So, it’s there for us to see. The guy’s got the talent. And it’s important that we give him clear messages every time we get an opportunity to speak to him. And that’s what we’ve done,” he expressed.
“And I hope he continues from where he left in Hyderabad. He’s got the game to play. The spin, the seamers. So, I don’t see any reason why he can’t flourish in Test cricket. Obviously, the opportunities are there now. Obviously, spending so much time in international cricket, it’s for him also to understand now how he wants to take his career forward,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
