IND vs SL: 3 Signs That Indicate KL Rahul’s T20I Career Is Over
Published - 28 Dec 2022, 03:29 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
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IND vs SL: 3 Signs That Indicate KL Rahul’s T20I Career Is Over. Team India senior stars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul have not been picked for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting in early January. The BCCI hasn’t provided any reason for the troika’s absence from the T20I squad though.
Several reports though suggested that Rohit Sharma has not fully recovered from a thumb injury he sustained during the Bangladesh tour while Virat Kohli has asked for a short break. However, a report suggested that the BCCI has started the ‘phasing out’ period as the star trio might not be picked again in the shortest format keeping the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.
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IND vs SL: 3 Signs That Indicate KL Rahul’s T20I Career Is Over
1. KL Rahul’s T20I Form And Poor Strike Rate In 2022
2022 has not been kind to KL Rahul. His struggles with the bat are more visible in T20Is. When rival camps’ openers were slogging the ball and boasting strike rates in excess of 140, his strike rate across 16 matches in 2022 was a paltry 126.53.
He also only managed 434 runs averaging a mere 28.93 with the help of six half-centuries, but the majority of those innings came at a rate that hampered the team’s cause. Seven of the remaining ten innings in which KL Rahul did not score were single digits.
The opener had a poor T20 World Cup 2022 and Asia Cup 2022 where he managed 128 runs in 6 T20Is averaging 21.33 and 132 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 26.4. His strike rate in the two events was 120.75 and 122.22 respectively.
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2. Availability And Form Of Several Other T20I Specialist Batters
There are several T20I specialist openers available apart from the 30-year-old Karnataka born in the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, and Shubman Gill who have done well in domestic cricket, IPL or limited opportunities in international cricket.
Interestingly, all of the likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, and Sanju Samson can open the innings for India after they were selected for the Sri Lanka T20I series. Rishabh Pant wasn’t included in the T20I squad for poor but he also has opened in some T20Is for India.
3. KL Rahul’s Unwanted T20I Record Against Strong Oppositions
The 30-year-old opener has a poor record against strong opponents in T20Is. Against Pakistan, he averages a mere 8.75 in 4 T20Is managing only 35 runs with a best of 28. Against England, he has managed 247 runs including a T20I ton but averages only 24.7 in 11 matches.
Given the batting form of the Karnataka lad across formats, the management has made a tough call on his future. His last five scores in T20Is have three single-digit scores and two fifties. His fifties came against comparatively easy teams Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup 2022.
He has played 72 T20Is amassing 2265 runs averaging 37.75. In Asia Cup 2022, he again failed against strong teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka but did well against easier opponents Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
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BCCI IND vs SL 2023 India National Cricket Team India vs Bangladesh 2022 India vs Sri Lanka 2023 Ishan Kishan KL Rahul Prithvi Shaw Rahul Tripathi Rishabh Pant Rohit Sharma Ruturaj Gaikwad Sanju Samson Shubman Gill Suryakumar Yadav T20 World Cup 2024 Virat Kohli
