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KL Rahul is in terrific form for the India National Cricket Team in the World Test Championship 2025-27 season. He played a fighting 82-run knock in the first innings of the ongoing Galle Test against Sri Lanka.
While for most s career Rahul played as a middle-order batter, as an opener, he shows class, elegance and the guts to take on the new ball. With KL at the top of the batting order, India and Delhi Capitals, in the previous two seasons of the Indian Premier League, got strong starts.
Cheteshwar Pujara ranks KL Rahul among India's all-time best openers
After the right-hander's magnificent innings against Sri Lanka, he instantly became a trending topic among Indian cricket fans on social media platforms. Some even started to call him one of the best openers to ever play for the Indian cricket team.
Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, however, has different opinions. Pujara recognized KL Rahul as a brilliant opener, but not among the all-time greats. In a Cricinfo video, the former cricketer was asked to rank Rahul.
KL Rahul crossed the first hurdle in Cheteshwar Pujara's rankings
The rankings were divided into top 20, top 10, top 5 and top 3. Cheteshwar Pujara comfortably placed Rahul in the top 20 and top 10 categories, but was double minded to place Rahul in the top 5 category before ruling him out front he top 3 bracket.
"Yes, definitely. The kind of form he is in recently as an opener and the way he has improved his game, yes, he is in the top 20," Pujara said when he was asked, "Is KL Rahul in your all-time top 20 India Test Openers?"Pujara mentioned that Rahul is definitely one of the best openers India has produced over the years.
"He is probably one of the best openers India has produced, and the way he has been batting in overseas conditions, he is in the top 10," the former cricketer added.
But is the keeper-batter good enough to make it into the top 5 or in the top 3 of all-time best Indian openers? Cheteshwar Pujara expressed doubts.
"Well, that's a tough one because we are talking over the years and he may or may not be there. So that is why I am going to pick the top three openers of all time, my favourite ones. I would go with Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Murali Vijay," Pujara concluded the video.
Does KL Rahul make your top three India Test openers of all time? 👀 pic.twitter.com/fMGYezChkH
— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) August 17, 2026
KL Rahul is carrying a fantastic form in WTC 2025-27
KL Rahul has a decent Test record as an opener. Coming out as the No. 1 batter, he has so far accumulated 1601 runs in 41 innings for a batting average of 40.02. As a No.2 batter in the Indian batting line-up in Tests, in 61 innings, the batter has scored 2180 runs, averaging 37.58.
In the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, Rahul has an average of 51.64. This year, his batting average is over 90 after featuring in two Tests and two innings, and he concluded the 2025-26 season with a batting average of 44.00 after featuring in seven innings.
