Cannot pinpoint a technical deficiency in Rahul’s game: Srikkanth

At the age of 30, KL Rahul is no more a youngster in this Indian setup, with 47 Test appearances under his belt. But the performances have been sporadic, which has led to immense criticism from all corners, including a series of scathing remarks from former Indian pacer, Venkatesh Prasad. 

Since the start of 2022, Rahul has averaged just 15.90, with just the one half-century in the longest format. In his last ten innings, the average has fell further down to 12.50. But neither the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma nor the Indian head coach Rahul Dravid have lost their faith in the opener, stating that the big innings is just around the corner. 

But the patience has run out from the public spectrum, including former Indian opener, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who insisted that it was time for India to bring back Shubman Gill at the top of the order at the expense of Rahul. 

“I cannot pinpoint a technical deficiency in his game at the moment. I think this is more mental and all Rahul needs to do is take a break and sort his mind out. There’s no reason why he can’t come back with all guns blazing,” Srikkanth told The Times of India. 

“But with all due respect to Rahul, it is time to play Shubman. You can’t keep a player waiting when he is in the form of his life,” Srikkanth added.

The 1983-World Cup winner also called Rahul a ‘Rolls Royce’ but reckoned that nothing is quite happening for the right-hander, and wanted the 30-year-old to further take a break for a while. 

“I have tremendous admiration for the class of Rahul, in fact I call him Rolls Royce Rahul... but it is just not happening for him at the moment. If I was the chairman of selectors, I would have gone up to him and told him to take a break for a while,” Srikkanth added.