Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra believes KL Rahul is unlucky as he will always be in the shadows of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, he added that the star batter will continue playing for India as long as he is among the runs. However, India will take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, with the first match starting in Chennai on September 19. KL Rahul, who has been
picked in the 16-member Indian squad for the first Test, will likely compete with Sarfaraz Khan for a middle-order berth as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “I personally like KL Rahul as a player. He will have to score runs. If he keeps scoring runs, he will keep moving forward. His fate is that he will always be in the shadows of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. These are the big guys. I feel Rahul is super talented, super skilled. Future – he will keep playing until he keeps scoring runs. Although the team rates him very highly, an atmosphere gets created against him very quickly in Indian cricket. There are plenty of people who go after him,” Chopra observed.
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“So he won’t get as long a rope as you would give to anyone else with the same caliber or pedigree. If it’s up to me, I would definitely give it because he has scored a lot of runs and difficult runs,” he stated.
However, Aakash Chopra also opened up about talented batter Prithvi Shaw’s absence from India’s Test side. He doesn’t see the Mumbai opener playing for India anytime soon, highlighting that the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad are still waiting in the wings.
“Only himself to blame. Reputation makes a difference, what people around you think about you. The performances were slightly inconsistent. You felt for him because he is an extremely talented boy. He is destroying in England as well. I saw a lot of his matches. However, it will take time because we have already spoken about Ruturaj’s number not coming, so how will it come for Prithvi?” Aakash Chopra concluded.
