The talented Indian batter, KL Rahul has been going through a rough patch in his cricketing career ever since he made a comeback from injury last year in August. Rahul, who has not been at his best since mid-2022 was recently removed as India’s deputy skipper for the final two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Former Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly was asked about the criticism of the opening batter during his recent interaction with PTI.

Sourav Ganguly opined that a batter would be criticized if he fails to score runs consistently in the home conditions. Rahul hasn’t crossed the 25-run mark in his last 10 Test knocks. An average of less than 35 in 47 Tests isn’t an actual realization of his real potential.

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During an exclusive interview with PTI, on the sidelines of Delhi Capitals’ IPL pre-season camp, Sourav Ganguly said, “When you don’t score runs in India, obviously you will get flak. KL Rahul hasn’t been the only one. There have been players in the past also.”

Sourav Ganguly tried to dissect the reason behind the Bengaluru man is being persisted with despite repeated failures.

Explaining the same, the former Indian cricketer said, “There’s so much focus and attention with lot of pressure on players. The team management thinks he is an important player for the team. At the end of the day, what coach and captain thinks is important.”

While Rahul has played some quality knocks in England, Sourav Ganguly said it’s obvious that people will expect way more from a talented player like KL Rahul, who has managed just five Test centuries in nine years.

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Elaborating the same, Sourav Ganguly said, “He has performed but obviously you expect a lot more from a top order batter playing for India because the standards set by others are so high. When you fail for a while, obviously there will be criticism. I am sure Rahul has ability and I am sure as and when he gets more opportunities, he will have to find ways to score.”