End Of Road For K L Rahul?

K L Rahul is not having the kind of Border-Gavaskar Trophy series he was looking forward to.

After scoring 20, 17 and 1 in the first two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, the opener was dropped as Test vice-captain after the second Test in Delhi.

Rahul was not picked for the third Test in Indore, bringing to an end a heated debate over his inclusion in the team.

Rahul hasn't crossed the 30 run mark in his last 10 innings and his overall career average of 33 after 47 Tests doesn't ooze confidence.

He 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.

His replacement for the Indore Test, Shubman Gill, has scored 736 runs in 13 Tests with one tons and four half-centuries. The 23 year old recently scored a double ton in ODIs and is one of the few Indian players to have a ton in all formats.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has been vocal about his support for Gill to open the batting for India.

Retired pacer Venkatesh Prasad had a virtual spat with retired opener Akash Chopra over Rahul.

'I was thinking whether the management will show courage and do the right thing with K L Rahul, who is a big name player and has played some important innings in the past. I think everyone supports the decision, so well done,' retired player-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted as saying after the toss on Wednesday morning.

Will the IPL, which begins at the month-end, revive Rahul's spirits and batting? Rahul captains the Lucknow SuperGiants in the IPL.

Or will he go the Cheteshwar Pujara way, score heavily in county cricket to get noticed again.

Whatever Rahul decides to do hereon, he will be watched keenly.