The curious case of KL Rahul’s T20I snub amid Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s return

The India vs Afghanistan series will mark the T20I comeback of senior Men in Blue duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but KL Rahul remains out of the picture for now.

Rohit, Kohli, and Rahul were part of the Indian playing XI that featured in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide. The Men in Blue were crushed by 10 wickets in the knockout clash and none of the three - Rohit, Kohli, and Rahul - have played a T20I since.

The Men in Blue were led by all-rounder Hardik Pandya in a few T20I series after the ICC event. However, he remains in and out of the team due to injury issues. Even currently, he is recuperating from an ankle injury he picked up during the ODI World Cup league clash against Bangladesh. In Pandya’s absence, explosive batter Suryakumar Yadav had led the side in T20Is recently, but even he has been sidelined for the Afghanistan series due to an ankle injury he picked up in South Africa.

In the days leading up to the selection for the series against Afghanistan, there had been a growing clamor for Rohit and Kohli’s T20I recall in the wake of their stupendous batting form in the ODI World Cup. However, there was no such noise over Rahul, who remains out of favor in the T20 format for India.

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Analyzing the logic behind Rahul’s T20I snub

If we compare the T20I numbers of Rahul with Kohli and Rohit, he is third among the leading run-getters for Team India in the format. Kohli, of course, tops the list with 4,008 runs in 107 innings at an average of 52.73 and a strike rate of 137.96 with one hundred and 37 fifties.

On the other hand, Rohit has amassed 3,853 runs in 140 innings at an average of 31.32 and a strike rate of 139.24 with four hundreds and 29 fifties.

Looking at Rahul’s T20I stats, the 31-year-old has 2,265 runs to his name in 68 innings at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.12 with two hundreds and 22 fifties.

Kohli has a superior average among the trio, but that has been boosted by 31 not-outs. Looking at the other key parameter - the strike rate - Rahul is on par with both Kohli and Rohit.

Also, if performance in the ODI World Cup was the criteria for Kohli and Rohit’s T20I comeback, it must be noted that Rahul himself had done a very good job in the ICC tournament. Kohli was the leading run-getter with 765 runs in 11 innings at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32.

Indian captain Rohit was second on the list with 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95. Batting in the middle order, Rahul also did a fantastic job, scoring 452 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.33 and a strike rate of 90.76.

So, if ODI World Cup performance was the base for Rohit and Kohli’s T20I comeback, the case of Rahul's non-selection seems rather curious. What must also be taken into consideration is the fact that he can also keep wickets and did a decent job behind the stumps in the ODI World Cup.

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Expert view: "What is Rahul's mistake?" - Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has questioned Rahul’s omission from the Indian T20I squad for the Afghanistan series. According to Chopra, the fact that the right-handed batter has been ignored is quite strange.

"When you want to go back to your seniors, what is Rahul's mistake? If you are making the team based on the last T20 World Cup performance, both Rohit and Rahul didn't do well. Both are in the same boat. After that, both have done well, if we see the last World Cup, the ODI one. Then both names should have been there," he said on his YouTube Channel.

“Rahul even keeps and bats down the order now. So you could have played him there as well. However, Rahul isn't there but Rohit is. Virat Kohli is there. You weren't looking to keep him for the last one year," a perplexed Chopra wondered.

While Kohli had an excellent 2022 T20 World Cup, both Rohit and Rahul struggled. Rohit managed only 116 runs in six innings at an average of 19.33 and a strike rate of 106.4, while Rahul scored 128 runs in six innings at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of 120.75.

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Can Rahul still feature in the 2024 T20 World Cup?

While his non-selection for the Afghanistan series is a big setback for Rahul concerning his 2024 T20 World Cup hopes, it’s not all over for the batter yet. The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played just ahead of the T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies, so Rahul will get a chance to stake a claim for a place in the World Cup squad.

Remember, Team India will not play any T20Is after the series against Afghanistan, so the IPL is the only tournament that the selectors can utilize to gauge the T20 form of the players ahead of the ICC event.

If Rahul has a tremendous IPL 2024, there is no reason why he too cannot make a comeback to the Men in Blue squad for the T20 World Cup.