India has stumbled upon yet another Rahul who can keep and bat

Ever since MS Dhoni has been missing from action, the Indian team management has backed Rishabh Pant to don the role of India’s premier wicketkeeper-batsman. Despite repeated failures and constant pressure from all corners to include Sanju Samson as Pant’s replacement, skipper Virat Kohli has shown faith in the left-hander’s abilities.

Though Pant was backed by the Indian management primarily owing to his big-hitting abilities, the Delhi youngster found it a little difficult to carve out a permanent place for himself in the squad.

KL Rahul’s ascent as India’s wicket-keeper in limited-overs cricket

KL Rahul's wicket-keeping has been a revelation, adding balance to the Indian team

Ever since Rishabh Pant was hit on the helmet in the home series against Australia, KL Rahul has risen spectacularly to the occasion performing a near-perfect job behind the wickets. Though many believed the injury to Pant would open the doors for Sanju Samson, however, KL Rahul’s fine showing behind the stumps has given a completely new dimension to the Indian set-up. Even though it is still early days to draw any conclusion, Rahul has looked solid donning the role of the wicketkeeper for the team.

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Adding the perfect balance

Rahul’s form with the bat in white-ball cricket has been a revelation in recent times, and the fact that he can be a handy bet behind the wickets gives an added advantage to the side in terms of adding a proper batsman/bowler to the playing eleven.

Apart from adding a perfect balance to the side, by no means has Rahul looked a stop-gap wicketkeeper and displayed proper technique behind the wickets. Having the experience of keeping wickets for his IPL franchise as well as his state Karnataka in domestic tournaments, he seems to be relishing the dual role of keeping and opening the innings – excelling in both so far. Although, it will be a challenge for the Karnataka batsman to perform the role of opening as well as keeping in a 50 over game, primarily owing to the fact that he has not done it in international cricket.

Calmness behind the wickets: An apt skill for DRS

Adding to his repertoire is his ability with the DRS, though matching MS Dhoni’s impeccable judgments while taking the DRS is a hard task, Rahul surely seems to have gotten skipper Kohli’s faith in the limited opportunities so far with the decision reviews. The calmness and composure that Rahul displays on the field is something that would surely help him while going for the DRS in critical moments, something that was amiss with Pant.

Following idol Rahul Dravid’s footsteps

During the onset of the 2002 season, India asked vice-captain Rahul Dravid to take the role of wicket-keeping, something he was not used to, to add an extra batsman into the side. Despite not being a regular behind the wickets, Dravid agreed to take on the responsibility of keeping the wickets in limited-overs for a considerable amount of time under Sourav Ganguly’s leadership. The fact that he had not kept wickets in any form of senior cricket and yet showed immense composure while keeping to the guile of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh spoke volumes of the selfless cricketer Dravid was for the country.

Though unlike Dravid, KL Rahul has kept wickets in domestic cricket and surely looks more settled in the role. If Dravid's wicketkeeping helped India field a more balanced side in terms of addition of a 7th batsman, the current situation has helped skipper Kohli to field the likes of both Shivam Dube and Manish Pandey into the side.

KL Rahul has, time and again, mentioned his role model in cricket has been his Karnataka senior Rahul Dravid and how he idolises Dravid's batting. While it has just been the beginning of Rahul’s stint as the wicket-keeper in international cricket, it would be exciting to see how things shape up for the Karnataka batsman in 2020 and how the dynamics in the Indian set-up progress in the years to come.