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Since his debut, KL Rahul has been one of the most puzzling cases in ODI cricket that Indian cricket has been trying to solve. He had the perfect start to his ODI career when, in 2016, he became the first Indian to score a century on debut.
However, he has played in only 50 of the 126 ODIs that India have played since his debut. This is a stat you will mostly associate with fringe players. But the case is not that simple.
While on the one hand, KL Rahul has not performed consistently in the opportunities he has had, it is also true that India never really figured out the optimal use of him in the format.
To accommodate him in his natural opening position, India would have had to sacrifice the ever-reliable opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.
So, mostly, he played as a backup opener. He did perform decently in that role, with 915 runs in 23 innings at an average of 43.57. But his strike rate of 79.70 in was not up to the mark when considering the rate of scoring in modern cricket, especially considering that he got to bat in the Power Play overs with only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
The team management also tried to play him at 3 and 4, but did not get any satisfactory results. He averaged 25.67 while batting 3 (three innings), while at 4, he did manage to score a century but otherwise averaged 20.20 in five innings.
After a number of ups and downs, India have finally figured out how to slot Rahul in with their incumbent top three intact: hand him the gloves and bat him at number five.
And it seems like the Karnataka batsman, in a handful of opportunities, has nailed that role to perfection.
In this article, we'll take a look at how batting at No. 5 suits KL Rahul and what makes him India's best bet in that position for the upcoming World Cup.
KL Rahul plays spin very well
In ODI cricket, a player batting at No. 5 should have the ability to spin well. Given that the ball is slightly older in the middle overs, batters have to face spin more often than not.
KL Rahul has had some great success against spin in recent times.
He averages 48.78 with a healthy strike rate of 91.18 against all kinds of spinners with only 14 dismissals.
If we take specific spinners into consideration, he has some excellent numbers to illustrate his prowess against spin.
Against leg-spinners (a negative match-up), he averages 40.80 with an strike rate of 88.31 and 5 dismissals.
He loves playing against off-spinners (a positive match-up), as he averages 70.33 against them with a strike rate of 89.78 and only 4 dismissals.
Against left-arm spinners (a negative match-up), his numbers are insane — despite the small sample size of 19 innings — averaging 87.00 with a striker rate of 96.66 and only 4 dismissals.
But it would be wise to remember that KL Rahul was not that prolific against spin before the 2019 World Cup.
During India’s 2017 tour of Sri Lanka, Rahul auditioned for No. 4, and he got out to spin on all three occasions, averaging just 9.3, indicating that he has worked really hard on his spin game.
Recently, on a slow Dhaka pitch where everyone else struggled, the right-hander was the only one to negate the threat of Bangladesh spinners efficiently. He looked the most secure batsman against the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
While Rahul batted at a strike rate of 121.4 against spin, no one else in the entire game even managed a rate of 80 against the spinners.
KL Rahul can mould his game
While batting at No. 5, you will either walk into a situation where the score is 5/3, where you have to not only resurrect the innings but also provide the required impetus later in the innings as well, or you will have to maintain the momentum if the team has had a good start.
KL Rahul has shown in his 15 innings batting at No. 5 that he can play both these roles to perfection.
In January 2020, playing in only his second game in that position, he arrived at 198/3 in the 33rd over against Australia, and he had one job to do: just maintain the tempo of the innings. He started plundering Australian bowlers and scored 80 off 52 with a strike rate of 153.84, which propelled India to 340.
At Mount Maunganui in February 2020, when India slipped to 62/3, Rahul weathered the New Zealand attack and scored 112 to guide the team to a respectable 296.
And recently, in the second ODI against a spirited Sri Lanka, it was his mature batting that helped India come out of a precarious situation of 62/3 chasing 216. He did all the ugly batting, soaked up the pressure, and took his team to victory.
His numbers while batting in death overs are also a reason why the team backs him in the middle order role.
He has so far scored 288 runs in the last 10 overs at an impressive strike rate of 162.71.
KL Rahul provides flexibility to the team
KL Rahul donning gloves and batting in the middle order means India can afford to play an extra batsman or extra bowler as per the team's needs.
This becomes even more crucial because Indian batsmen do not bowl much, and the team desperately needs a sixth bowling option in white-ball cricket.
