India vs Sri Lanka: KL Rahul's exclusion from ODI team harsh, he is too good a batsman to be coldly dumped
Rahul also needs the same kind of backing that the other players got. He has immense talent and potential as a batsman. But all that would be a waste if he doesn't get selected like this.
"We are going to try out KL Rahul at No 4 in this series. He is too good a player to sit out."
That was exactly what chief selector MSK Prasad had said while announcing the limited overs squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka back in August. That statement clearly showed that he rated Rahul quite highly as a player and there was no way he was going to sit out despite the opening slots being occupied by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
Three months down the line, things have changed in such a way that leave aside the playing XI, the Karnataka batsman doesn't even find a place in the entire limited overs squad for the home series against Sri Lanka.
File photo of KL Rahul. AP
And the reason behind his exclusion has been attributed to his failure in the limited opportunities that he has got. He has accounted for just 52 runs in his past six ODI innings despite getting his ODI career off to a flying start with a century on debut during the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016. Since then, he had failed to make it big in the home series against England where he opened alongside Ajinkya Rahane. When India's first choice openers, Rohit and Dhawan returned, Rahul was pushed down to No 4 in order to accommodate them. But he failed once again, getting dismissed cheaply in three consecutive matches in the away ODI series against Sri Lanka.
And as far as the Test squad is concerned, he finds himself fighting for a place with Dhawan and Murali Vijay. All three of them have made their cases for occupying the opener's slot. Eventually, one is going to miss out in the long run. Only time will tell who that player is going to be.
Rahul has been in superb form in Test cricket, having scored nine fifties in his past 12 outings. However, he hasn't been able to convert those starts into big hundreds — something that can be associated with the likes of Vijay and Dhawan. Out of the 14 times that Rahul has gone past the score of 50 in Tests, he has crossed the 150 mark only on two occasions.
Even skipper Virat Kohli had lent his voice in support of Rahul that he was the Test side's first choice opener alongside Vijay.
"We had it pretty clear in our heads that KL (Rahul) is our number one choice alongwith M Vijay. He is fit at any stage; he comes back into the team and we are going to start with him. Be it pulling him out of a first-class game in between. It's within the rules and regulations," Kohli had said in a news conference on the eve of the second Test during the tour of Sri Lanka.
However, with Dhawan now being back into the scheme of things with a good run of form, Rahul's place is not secure even in the Test squad.
Now the question is: did Rahul really deserve to be dropped from the limited overs squad? Let's review all the facts once again to find the answer. Despite his lean patch in ODIs, he should have found a place in the squad at least even if he wasn't going to be a part of the playing XI. And omitting his name from the shortest format too is really harsh on him.
Although, he has been short of runs in ODIs, he has done reasonably well in T20Is. His innings of 110 not out against the Windies in US and 71 against England at Nagpur stand out among his T20I performances. He has even proved his mettle as a middle order batsman in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had amassed 397 runs at an average of 44.11 batting at No 4 and 5 in the 2016 edition of the IPL.
In spite of such brilliant performances, the selectors don't deem him good enough anymore to feature in the ODI squad. Shreyas Iyer is the man who has been preferred over him. It's not that he hasn't earned his place in the squad. He has been selected on the back of a brilliant domestic season as well. However, Rahul deserved to be in the squad as much as Iyer and that is where the selectors had been wrong with their decision.
The Indian team has backed a number of players during their rough patches and the outcome has mostly been brilliant. The best examples of that have been Rohit and Dhawan. Even now, they are backing Rahane to come out of his lean patch and perform the way he did on previous occasions.
Rahul also needs the same kind of backing that the other players got. He has immense talent and potential as a batsman. But all that would be a waste if he doesn't get selected like this. It was harsh to judge him as a player only on the basis of a few failures. If India want to extract the best out of Rahul then the team and the selectors need to back him in the best possible way. His exclusion is in no way justified. And the selectors need to rectify their mistake soon.
"We are going to try out KL Rahul at No 4 in this series. He is too good a player to sit out."
That was exactly what chief selector MSK Prasad had said while announcing the limited overs squad for India's tour of Sri Lanka back in August. That statement clearly showed that he rated Rahul quite highly as a player and there was no way he was going to sit out despite the opening slots being occupied by Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
Three months down the line, things have changed in such a way that leave aside the playing XI, the Karnataka batsman doesn't even find a place in the entire limited overs squad for the home series against Sri Lanka.
File photo of KL Rahul. AP
And the reason behind his exclusion has been attributed to his failure in the limited opportunities that he has got. He has accounted for just 52 runs in his past six ODI innings despite getting his ODI career off to a flying start with a century on debut during the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016. Since then, he had failed to make it big in the home series against England where he opened alongside Ajinkya Rahane. When India's first choice openers, Rohit and Dhawan returned, Rahul was pushed down to No 4 in order to accommodate them. But he failed once again, getting dismissed cheaply in three consecutive matches in the away ODI series against Sri Lanka.
And as far as the Test squad is concerned, he finds himself fighting for a place with Dhawan and Murali Vijay. All three of them have made their cases for occupying the opener's slot. Eventually, one is going to miss out in the long run. Only time will tell who that player is going to be.
Rahul has been in superb form in Test cricket, having scored nine fifties in his past 12 outings. However, he hasn't been able to convert those starts into big hundreds — something that can be associated with the likes of Vijay and Dhawan. Out of the 14 times that Rahul has gone past the score of 50 in Tests, he has crossed the 150 mark only on two occasions.
Even skipper Virat Kohli had lent his voice in support of Rahul that he was the Test side's first choice opener alongside Vijay.
"We had it pretty clear in our heads that KL (Rahul) is our number one choice alongwith M Vijay. He is fit at any stage; he comes back into the team and we are going to start with him. Be it pulling him out of a first-class game in between. It's within the rules and regulations," Kohli had said in a news conference on the eve of the second Test during the tour of Sri Lanka.
However, with Dhawan now being back into the scheme of things with a good run of form, Rahul's place is not secure even in the Test squad.
Now the question is: did Rahul really deserve to be dropped from the limited overs squad? Let's review all the facts once again to find the answer. Despite his lean patch in ODIs, he should have found a place in the squad at least even if he wasn't going to be a part of the playing XI. And omitting his name from the shortest format too is really harsh on him.
Although, he has been short of runs in ODIs, he has done reasonably well in T20Is. His innings of 110 not out against the Windies in US and 71 against England at Nagpur stand out among his T20I performances. He has even proved his mettle as a middle order batsman in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He had amassed 397 runs at an average of 44.11 batting at No 4 and 5 in the 2016 edition of the IPL.
In spite of such brilliant performances, the selectors don't deem him good enough anymore to feature in the ODI squad. Shreyas Iyer is the man who has been preferred over him. It's not that he hasn't earned his place in the squad. He has been selected on the back of a brilliant domestic season as well. However, Rahul deserved to be in the squad as much as Iyer and that is where the selectors had been wrong with their decision.
The Indian team has backed a number of players during their rough patches and the outcome has mostly been brilliant. The best examples of that have been Rohit and Dhawan. Even now, they are backing Rahane to come out of his lean patch and perform the way he did on previous occasions.
Rahul also needs the same kind of backing that the other players got. He has immense talent and potential as a batsman. But all that would be a waste if he doesn't get selected like this. It was harsh to judge him as a player only on the basis of a few failures. If India want to extract the best out of Rahul then the team and the selectors need to back him in the best possible way. His exclusion is in no way justified. And the selectors need to rectify their mistake soon.
Also read – India vs Sri Lanka: Siddarth Kaul’s selection in the ODI squad is an ode to his talent and tenacity
Also read – India vs Sri Lanka: Murali Vijay says being 'very good friends' with KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan helps when someone is dropped
Published Date:Dec 01, 2017
| Updated Date: Dec 01, 2017
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