KL Rahul's torrid run has continued in the second Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the first Test he could score only 20. On Day 2 of the second Test, Rahul was dismissed for 17 off 41 balls. The talented batter last scored a Test half-century in January, 2022 against South Africa in Johannesburg. His last Test ton came against the same opponents in December 2021. He was slow off the blocks, and could not score a big knock against Australia on Saturday..
Following yet another below-par knock from Rahul, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad came down hard on the opener.
"And the torrid run continues. More to do with rigidity of the management to persist with a player who just hasn't looked the part. No top order batsman in atleast last 20 years of Indian cricket has played these many tests with such a low average. His inclusion is deliberately denying talented guys, in form guys an opportunity to be in the 11," Prasad tweeted.
"Shikhar had a test avg of 40+ , Mayank has of 41+ with 2 double hundreds, Shubhman Gill in sublime form, Sarfaraz never ending wait.. Many domestic performances constantly ignored.
"His inclusion shakes belief in Justice. SS Das had great potential, so did S Ramesh, both avgd 38+but did not get beyond 23 Test matches. Rahul's consistent inclusion gives an impression of lack of batting talent in India which isn't true. Last 5 years his avg is below 27 in 47 inn
"As per me, he is currently not amongst the current 10 best opener's in India but is being given endless chances. Guys like Kuldeep Yadav put in man of the match performances and next game are dropped with theories like Horses for courses. In any course ,KL is not a horse. Sad"