The Indian team management is responsible for KL Rahul’s ordinary performances throughout his international career. He is the only player in the world whose batting order is not fixed, and the batter is paying a heavy price. The Karnataka-based batter hasn’t been able to cement his place across formats and is no longer part of the T20I team.
Whenever the decision-makers look for a scapegoat, Rahul is the first name that comes to their minds. In the first ODI between India and England, his number five slot was given to Axar Patel, who scored fifty, but Rahul managed just 2 runs.
In the five-match Test series against Australia, he opened the innings in the series opener as captain Rohit Sharma was unavailable. He didn’t touch Rahul on his return for the next two red-ball games in Adelaide and Brisbane due to the latter’s magnificent display with the bat.
However, Rohit decided to return as an opener in the fourth game, with Rahul getting dropped to the number 3 position. These are just two instances from the never-ending list of questionable calls.
Former player Aakash Chopra highlighted the same issue in the first ODI against England in Nagpur. “Nobody except Rohit Sharma performed in Sri Lanka, but KL Rahul was the only one who was dropped. Virat Kohli also failed, but he remained in the playing XI.
“The first match ended in a tie and India lost the second contest. In the third clash, Rishabh Pant replaced KL Rahul. This is how is treated by the team management,” he said on Sports 18.
Sanjay Bangar, who has a habit of justifying even the worst of moves by the team management, finally spoke against the ill-treatment of the wicket-keeper batter, but not before proving his loyalty to the BCCI.
“The team management makes a decision after considering several points, and they go for players who are required or needed in a particular situation. However, I urged the team management to treat Rahul fairly,” he said.