Since their return to Test cricket, six Asian openers have achieved the feat of scoring Test centuries in South Africa. Additionally, during the same period, a total of 14 Asian openers have managed to score hundreds in England, while 10 have achieved the milestone in Australia.
Out of the players who have accomplished the remarkable feat of scoring Test centuries in South Africa, England, and Australia, only two names appear on all three lists. The first is Saeed Anwar, who is often considered underrated despite his impressive performances. The second player is KL Rahul.
Looking at KL Rahul's current Test statistics, which unfortunately do not reflect his full potential, it is surprising to think back to six years ago when Australia last toured India for a Test series. At that time, it was the sort of noteworthy fact that people might have expected to read about Rahul in the future, considering his impressive performance in Test cricket.
During the Border-Gavaskar series in 2016-17, which took place on four pitches with distinct characteristics, including three that were particularly difficult, KL Rahul faced the best and most well-balanced visiting bowling attack to play in India in the last decade. Despite the challenge, he managed to score 64, 10, 90, 51, 67, 60, and 51* in the series, finishing as its third-highest run-scorer after Steven Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara. These scores were part of an impressive run where he passed the 50-run mark ten times in 14 innings.
KL Rahul was only 25 years old when he was going through that incredible phase in his career. He had already scored centuries for India in all three formats of the game, and it seemed like there was nothing he couldn't do.
Now, six years later, KL Rahul has proven himself in almost every aspect of batting at the highest level of the game. He has achieved incredible feats such as scoring a half-century in just 14 balls during the IPL, and he has also shown immense patience by taking 108 balls to hit his first boundary while setting up a century at Lord's in Test cricket. He can effortlessly flick balls off his hips for sixes and also possesses the discipline to leave outswingers on the fourth stump line by withdrawing his bat from the line of the ball at the last moment.
Despite his incredible range of skills, KL Rahul may have become a victim of his own versatility. While it is now part of a cricketer's job to adapt to multiple formats, it can be a challenging task, especially for those who possess a wide range of abilities. For instance, Virat Kohli's batting style in Tests is entirely different from his approach in T20s, which are essentially two different sports. However, the gap between how Rahul bats in Tests and how he used to play in T20s a few years back, say in 2018 when he had an IPL strike rate of 158.41, is much more significant. This could potentially make it harder for Rahul to adjust to different formats and could be a factor in his unfulfilled potential.
While several factors may have contributed to KL Rahul's poor performance in Test cricket in 2018, the challenge of transitioning from the high-intensity T20 format to the longer, red-ball mode was likely a significant factor. In that year, he played 12 Tests and only managed to score 468 runs at an average of 22.28. What made it worse was that his technique seemed to have fallen apart, making him vulnerable to being beaten on both edges of his bat, which resulted in a string of low scores.
It is worth noting that KL Rahul's successful return to Test cricket in 2021 may not have been entirely coincidental. In that year, he scored masterful centuries at Lord's and Centurion, where his impeccable technique and discipline in leaving the ball were on full display. It's possible that his successful Test performances came after he made significant changes to his T20 game, which involved severely limiting the risks he took in the early parts of his innings. While this earned him criticism from several quarters, it's essential to keep in mind that juggling three formats with entirely different demands can be incredibly challenging. Therefore, it's impossible to please everyone when attempting to strike a balance between different forms of the game.
KL Rahul's Test comeback in 2021 marked the beginning of an incredible rollercoaster ride for Indian cricket. At the start of that year, he wasn't even part of the first-choice Test XI. However, he quickly worked his way back into the team and found himself leading India in their first Test of 2022, after both Virat Kohli, their Test captain at the time, and Rohit Sharma, his deputy, were sidelined due to injuries. Later in the year, he also captained India in two Tests in Bangladesh when Rohit, who had become the all-format captain by then, was ruled out with another injury.
Unfortunately, despite reaching new heights in his career, Rahul's form took a significant dip soon after. In 2022, he struggled to find his footing and only managed to average 17.12 across eight innings. He also only passed fifty once during that time.
It's important to note that a sample size of four Tests and eight innings is relatively small and may not be fully indicative of a player's abilities. However, Indian batters often do not have the luxury of large sample sizes, and this is especially true now as India prepares for a four-Test home series against Australia. With the team likely to field only five specialist batters, competition for those spots is fierce.
While four Tests and eight innings may not provide a significant sample size, Indian cricketers often face limited opportunities to prove themselves. This is especially true for the upcoming four-Test series against Australia, where India will likely field only five specialist batters, and competition for those spots is fierce.
If Shreyas Iyer had been fit to start the first Test in Nagpur, it's quite conceivable that Rahul would have had to sit out, immediately after captaining India in their last Test. Iyer, whose counterattacking game against spin has been crucial in India's recent games in the subcontinent, was a near-certain starter in the middle order, which would have meant that Shubman Gill would have had to open the batting if India wanted to play him. And given how Gill has been batting lately - even if those runs have come in white-ball cricket - India would find it extremely difficult to not play him.
That's certainly a possibility. Suryakumar Yadav has been in fine form lately, and his aggressive strokeplay could be a valuable asset for India in a low-scoring game. However, it's worth noting that India has traditionally favored playing specialist batters in Test cricket, and Rahul's recent form in the longest format has been better than Gill's. Additionally, Gill has struggled for runs in the IPL and T20 World Cup, which could count against him if India opts for a conservative approach. Ultimately, it will come down to a judgment call from the Indian team management based on the conditions and the opposition.
Indeed, it's fascinating to see how much can change in just a few years in the world of cricket. Rahul and Gill are both exceptional talents, but their paths to the Indian Test team have been very different. And yet, here they are, both vying for a spot in the starting XI against one of the toughest opponents in the world. It's a testament to the depth of Indian cricket that they have such quality options to choose from, and it will be intriguing to see how they fare against Australia in the upcoming series.
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