Ravi Shastri, former India all-rounder and head coach, strongly emphasises the need to replace KL Rahul in the Test playing XI with the younger, in-form player, Shubman Gill. The latter has been outstanding of late but has yet to find a place in the starting lineups for the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. KL Rahul’s dismal batting performances have been widely criticised, and he has been stripped from his role as vice-captain, which appears to be the final blow to his Test cricket career. Opining that Shubman Gill deserves a chance to feature in the playing XI for the upcoming third Test against Australia, Shastri stated:
“He is that good at the moment and whether he scores or doesn’t score, on form, on merit, he deserves a chance. When you have a player that confident and then his performances off late and the way he’s batted – there’ll be a lot of players in that team thinking within themselves ‘How’s this guy not playing?” He further said, “They must be thinking, to be honest, it’s like that, the dressing room. I know that dressing room. They’ll be feeling ‘Gee man, this guy is hot’.”
“Sometimes a break for a player in those times is far better” – Ravi Shastri on KL Rahul
Since KL Rahul’s last Test fifty in South Africa in early 2022, he has been unable to recapture his form and rhythm. In the current series against Australia, he has failed to assert his authority in the crease, often losing his wicket in a lacklustre manner. Shastri said on his form: “Sometimes a break for a player in those times is far better, because you can go away, work on his game and come back stronger. I remember in my tenure, in the first Test at England, Pujara was dropped and he came back with hundreds. KL Rahul was dropped in Australia in 2019 and came back strongly too.”