An artificial debate of sorts opened up when Rahul was preferred to Rishabh Pant for the CT, artificial because it overlooked impact and merely relied on the eulogising of the X-Factor that the left-hander from Delhi brings
India ’keeper KL Rahul celebrates after taking a catch to dismiss B’desh’s Tanzid Hasan last week. Pic/AFP
One of KL Rahul’s earliest trysts with keeping wicket in international cricket came in his fourth Test, against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval in Colombo in August 2015. Wriddhiman Saha, the designated stumper, picked up a right hamstring injury while batting on Day Four and Rahul took over the big gloves during Sri Lanka’s impossible chase of 413.
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The hosts started Day Five on 72 for two, which became 72 for three after the very first ball, thanks to a sensational one-handed catch, diving full tilt to his right, by Rahul behind the sticks. Umesh Yadav produced a beauty that shaped just a little away from Angelo Mathews and caught the outside edge; the ball was dying between the ‘keeper and first slip when Rahul took off and came up with the cherry wedged in the webbing of his right glove. They say of wicketkeepers that they have had a very good game if they go unnoticed, but it was impossible not to notice this wonderful catch by someone who had slotted in as a wicketkeeper in his early days in school cricket but had since graduated to becoming a specialist batter alone.
Rahul has kept wickets for India in all formats, and not necessarily in a stand-in capacity alone. In his first outing as full-time Test ‘keeper, in Centurion in December 2023, he made a fabulous century batting at No. 6. In ODIs, where he has been behind the stumps in more than half his appearances (42 times in 82 games), he has been terrific both as a batter batting down the order and as a stumper, either standing back to the faster bowlers or up to the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, among others.
An artificial debate of sorts opened up when Rahul was preferred to Rishabh Pant for the ongoing Champions Trophy, artificial because it overlooked impact and statistics and merely relied on the eulogising of the X-Factor that the left-hander from Delhi unquestionably brings.
First-choice ’keeper
Heading into this tournament, Rahul averaged 51.36 as wicketkeeper-batter with a strike-rate in the early 90s. For all his stirring exploits in Test cricket, Pant’s ODI figures aren’t quite as electric — average 33.50, admittedly at a higher striker-rate of 106.21, in 31 outings.
Even before Pant’s horrendous road accident of December 2022, Rahul had emerged as the first-choice ODI gloveman, a role he excelled in during the 50-over World Cup in 2023 too. Batting at No. 5 — where he averages 62.30 — or more recently at No. 6, he is adept at playing the situation. His experience allows him to soak up the pressure, like he did against Bangladesh a week back, and because he is such a consummate boundary-hitter, he can easily catch up with the run-rate without appearing to be in a great hurry.
True all-rounder
Rahul has often appeared to be his worst enemy in Test cricket and in the 20-over game, but in the 50-over format, he has found his true calling as wicketkeeper/middle-order bat. The team management knows that, Rahul knows that and Pant too knows that, no matter what the perception outside might be. That, more than anything else, should settle the non-debate.
Pak’s CT campaign ends on winless note
Pakistan’s campaign in the Champions Trophy ended on a winless note after their match against Bangladesh was called off without a ball being bowled due to incessant rain here on Thursday. The match was effectively a dead-rubber, with both teams already out of contention after failing to secure a win in their two previous matches.As a result, the two teams shared one point each.
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