KL Rahul vs Kusal Mendis: Dissecting two upcoming stars

Contrasting roles in the side

In Rahul's case, India had two settled openers in Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan for the newbies to overcome before cementing a spot in the side. A pristine stroke maker, Rahul had a penchant for scoring big hundreds and this made him a valuable player in Ranji Cricket. With Dhawan and Vijay picking up injuries, Rahul's chances came and he grabbed them with both hands.

Dhawan's poor performances in the Test team also helped Rahul nail down the spot as one of India's first-choice openers. But he had little burden at the top considering the wealth of talent that followed in the middle-order. That wasn't the case for poor Mendis though, who had immense expectations placed on his shoulders right from his debut. Sri Lanka were in search of a new hero after the retirement of their batting stalwarts, and Mendis turned out to be a talent worth craving for.

That did not make the young lad's job any easier. However, he took to International cricket like fish to water and stamped his presence in Sri Lanka's Test squad with a couple of eye-catching performances. Although, his career average still hovers around the 30 mark, Mendis has shown enough proof for the selectors to persist with him.