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Ravichandran Ashwin has made some critical observations about KL Rahul’s batting. Rahul has been scoring runs consistently since the IPL 2026 season. He registered his 12th Test century as well in the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test.
The ongoing form of the versatile batter has come as a relief to team India ahead of the ODI series against Afghanistan. But Ashwin has some doubts over the keeper-batter’s performance.
KL Rahul endures a series of highs and lows
Throughout his career, KL Rahul has witnessed a lot of highs and lows because of his inconsistent form. Ashwin is afraid of the inconsistency. The former cricketer observes that when Rahul starts struggling to score runs, he is dismissed early in back-to-back games, which can be problematic for the team, as a player’s form cannot be predicted in advance.
Ashwin explains that every batter has different characteristics, even when they are not scoring runs according to their true potential. The 39-year-old compares KL Rahul with Virat Kohli and how they used to act when they were not in good touch.
R Ashwin explains the batting tendency of Rahul
According to R Ashwin, even in bad days, Kohli’s contribution comes in a significant way. But the case is completely different for Rahul. Rahul has developed the tendency to lose his wicket before claiming double-digit runs.
“Many people defend him by saying his average is low because of the tough wickets overseas. But what I've noticed with KL is that when he is going through a bad pitch, he won't score a run. All he'll do is go out to bat and return to the pavilion immediately. A Virat Kohli, even when out of form, will register scores like 30, 33, 43, 28. But KL will either score between 0 and 10 or above 50 a lot,” R Ashwin said in his YouTube channel.
“When he's locked in, he's fully locked in, but when he's not, he's not. He has only these two modes. I've not seen that middle mode with KL. But over the last couple of years, he has shown incredible maturity in terms of understanding his game,” he added
KL Rahul has been extraordinary: Ashwin
As KL Rahul has been in good form for a few months now, Ashwin is hopeful to see a lot of runs from his bat in the future as well.
"Don't dismiss the knock as one against Afghanistan. Give him credit for this at the moment, as anyway you are all going to criticize him in the future," said Ashwin
“Rahul has been extraordinary in the last 18 months. He has been in the form of his life, irrespective of what the averages show. And it's been across formats. He is now looking really locked in for a good few years towards the backend of his career,” he further mentioned.
Played as an opener for the Delhi Capitals, Rahul concluded the IPL 2026 season with 593 runs in 14 matches and as many games, averaging 45.61, and with a strike rate of 174.41. He smashed an unbeaten 152-run knock as well in IPL 2026. On his return to the Test, Rahul delivered a 100-run innings against Afghanistan.
