"That Could Be One Of The Reasons": Ex-India Star On KL Rahul's Struggles In T20 World Cup

Expected to steer India's charge with the bat, KL Rahul faltered yet again as Rohit Sharma's men took on the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup 2022 match on Thursday. Rahul lasted for just 12 balls, scoring 9 runs before he was dismissed LBW by Paul van Meekeren. Rahul's early dismissal sparked a meme-fest on Twitter but amid this criticism, former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has jumped to Rahul's defence. Jaffer feels it is probably because of his recent injury that Rahul is struggling.

During his 12-ball stay, Rahul hit just one boundary. The slow nature of the wicket continued to trouble Rahul before a delivery from Van Meekeren trapped him in front of the stumps. The umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger.

Speaking of Rahul's performance, Jaffer said that the batter seems to have lost his rhythm because of the recent injury that he had suffered.

"I think KL Rahul is a much better player than the numbers suggest. If you remember during our previous visit to Australia, he was in top form and after that he got injured and then again he had to come back. Therefore, it a bit difficult to maintain the same rhythm", said Jaffer while speaking on 'BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti' on CricTracker.

"You know he has been hit by injuries a couple of times. That could probably be one of the reasons, but I mean obviously the numbers are there and he would like to improve those numbers. He is a phenomenal player in Test cricket and he is even phenomenal in T20Is and One Day Internationals," he added.

Jaffer also asserted the need for other senior batters to come out good in big games, having disappointed against Pakistan.

"We struggled against Pakistan. Rohit Sharma got out cheaply, KL got out cheaply, Suryakumar Yadav also. Those guys need to come to the party with the big games coming up and today India does not need to be complacent. The Netherlands would come out with people not expecting too much from them, but they would like to be there, they would like to throw punches. So, India need to be on their gaurd. They can't be complacent", Jaffer asserted.

Rahul could've lasted longer on the crease had he decided to review the LBW decision. In the replays, it was found out that the ball would've missed the leg stump. However, the Indian team hadn't taken a review.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Netherlands KL Rahul Wasim Jaffer ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Cricket