Kannaur Lokesh Rahul, popularly known as KL Rahul, was born on 18 April 1992. He hails from Mangalore and started his cricketing career playing for Karnataka.
Rahul was a part of the India U-19 team for the 2010 World Cup and made his First-class debut later that year on 10 November 2010 against Punjab in Mohali. He was not very impressive at the start of his first-class career but had a breakthrough 2013-14 season.
He played a crucial role in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy win in the same year, scoring 1033 runs, including three centuries, three nineties, and a match-winning 131 which won him the Man of the Match in the finals.
Following his successful Ranji season, Rahul attracted a lot of attention in the Indian Premier League auctions in 2014 and was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a hefty Rs.1 crore. The wicket-keeper batsman was consistent through the season but did not play any extraordinary innings.
However, Rahul became a prominent name among the greatest players of the game, including the Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid, for his skills and orthodox cricketing shots in the longer format of the game.
KL and Dravid share a strong rapport since both of them have represented Karnataka in domestic cricket, although many years apart. KL looks up to him and often seeks mental and technical advice from him to improve his game.
Also read: 10 facts you need to know about Indian cricket's next big thing KL Rahul
The 24-year-old had a stint with the India A team when they toured Australia in July-August 2014. He got good starts in each match but only managed a highest score of 52.
He was back in a scintillating form in the 2014-15 domestic season, getting twin centuries -185 & 130- in the Duleep Trophy final. His successful run continued through the Ranji Trophy as well.
Rahul became the first triple-centurion for Karnataka in first-class cricket on 30 January 2015, for his magnificent knock of 337 off 448 against Uttar Pradesh in Bangalore. He also made 188 runs in the final against Tamil Nadu and finished the Ranji season with an average of 93.11 in the nine matches he played.
He was called in soon after, to play for the Indian test squad in their tour of Australia towards the end of 2015.
Rahul made his international Test debut in the Boxing Day Test on 26 December 2014 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, replacing Rohit Sharma. He could not render the expected performance batting down the order at number 6&3 in the first and second innings respectively.
In the fourth Test against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, he opened the innings and scored 110 runs, his maiden International hundred; thereafter he started opening the innings for India in Tests. The opening batsman missed out on the Bangladesh Tour in June 2015 due to Dengue. He found himself a place in the team for the Sri Lankan tour later that year and went on to score his second Test century.
His wicket-keeping skills came in handy when Wriddhiman Saha got injured in that series. India won that match and went on to level the series, and KL was awarded the Man of the Match for his 108 runs from 190 balls. With his ability to score runs playing orthodox cricketing shots, he should replace Shikhar Dhawan in the Indian Test squad.
Also read: Why the Indian selectors should keep KL Rahul in mind for the one-day scheme of things as well
In the 2015 season, Dhawan has managed just 485 runs in 10 innings- which includes 2 centuries and no fifties- at an average of 53.88, with his highest score of 173 coming against Bangladesh.
Rahul deserves an opportunity to stay in the side and establish himself as a Test player. He should be given a few matches to prove his potential.
Test to T20 player, Rahul’s transition has been good
KL Rahul has moulded himself beautifully from a Test player into a T20 player. Overall in T20’s he has scored 985 runs in 40 innings so far, averaging 29.84. The 24-year-old was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore during the 2016 auctions for Rs.100 lakhs, and has become a regular opener for RCB this season, proving his worth with his consistency.
Even at times when the big guns have failed to fire, he has taken the team to decent totals. In the game against Mumbai Indians on 11 May, Rahul scored an unbeaten 68 which included four sixes and three fours.
In the 7 matches that he has played this season for RCB, he has scored 264 runs at a strike rate of 147.48, averaging 44, also scoring his highest T20 score of 68 not out.
Given his ability to strike the ball and adapt to the shorter format pretty well, his call to the Indian T20 side is not too far away. Rahul would be the perfect replacement as an opener for the struggling Shikhar Dhawan, who has scored just 416 runs at an average of 20.80 in his 22 T20I outings for India.
In the recently concluded WT20, Dhawan’s poor form continued as he managed a highest score of just 23, and his average was just under 11.
KL Rahul might just be the new entry soon into the Indian limited overs side.
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