Venkatesh Prasad once again took to Twitter and continued to criticise KL Rahul following another poor showing in the 2nd innings of the second Test at Delhi. KL Rahul got out to the scores of 17 and 1 in the Test, and there seems to be no end to Rahul's struggles.
His latest Tweet is also an indirect dig at Aakash Chopra, who asked the veteran fast bowler to consider the timing before taking to social media. "Venky Bhai, Test match chal raha hai. How about, at least, waiting for both the innings to get over. All of us are in the same team i.e. Team India. Not asking you to hold back your thoughts but the timing could be a little better. After all, our game is all about the timing," Chopra has earlier Tweeted.
Replying to Chopra's suggestion, Prasad stated that timing, in this case, was irrelevant and the criticism was needed even if Rahul scored a half-century in the second innings.
"A few people thinking I have something personal against KL Rahul. Infact it is the opposite. I wish well for him and playing him in such form was never going to enhance his confidence. For him to earn his place back in Test cricket, now that the domestic season has ended," Prasad's latest Tweet read.
Continuing his suggestion in the 2nd Tweet, Prasad wrote that Rahul, much like Pujara should play County Cricket to return to form, but also asked if it was possible for him to skip IPL. "Rahul needs to play County cricket in England, score runs and earn his place back, much like Pujara did when he was dropped. Playing Test Cricket for the country and doing everything possible to get back in form will be the best answer. But will it be possible to skip the IPL?"
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KL Rahul's place in the team has been under fire in limited-overs cricket too. Although he doesn't seem in plans for the shortest format of the game now, it is in 50-overs cricket that the team expects him to play a solid role at number 5, and you can see for yourself from the numbers below, that he has done the job for the team.
KL Rahul At Number 5 In ODIs
- Innings: 16
- Runs: 658
- Average: 50.61
- Strike Rate: 102
- 50s: 6
- 100s: 1
Whether it is the average or the strike rate, Rahul has been fantastic for Team India in ODI cricket at number 5. But how has he performed in recent times?
Last 10 ODI Innings
- 3rd ODI Vs Sri Lanka 7 (6)
- 2nd ODI Vs Sri Lanka 64 (103)
- 1st ODI Vs Sri Lanka 39 (29)
- 3rd ODI Vs BAN 8 (10)
- 2nd ODI Vs BAN 14 (28)
- 1st ODI Vs BAN 73 (70)
- 3rd ODI Vs ZIM 30 (46)
- 2nd ODI Vs ZIM 1 (5)
- 1st ODI Vs ZIM 0 (0)
- 2nd ODI Vs WI 49 (48)
Yes, the numbers at number 5 have been great, but his recent outings haven't particularly been.
It will be interesting to see if the team persists with KL Rahul for the 3rd Test or go in with Shubman Gill. Whatever the decision, KL Rahul quickly needs to find a way to get back to form.
