"I was feeling that someone else should be given a chance in the Indian Test squad" - Sanjay Manjrekar on KL Rahul

Sanjay Manjrekar has acknowledged that he believed someone else should take KL Rahul's spot in India's Test squad ahead of the Nottingham Test.

Rahul had last played a Test for India almost two years ago. However, with Shubman Gill being ruled out of the series against England and Mayank Agarwal suffering a concussion ahead of the first Test, the stylish batsman was pitchforked into the opener's role.

While reviewing the first Test on Sony Sports, Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned that he was extremely pleased with KL Rahul's performance. He said:

"I was impressed as well as extremely happy for KL Rahul. I have been regularly saying that he failed in Test matches for 4-5 series, so I was feeling that someone else should be given a chance in the Indian Test squad or Test XI because KL Rahul was not giving good performances in Test cricket."

The former Indian cricketer lauded KL Rahul for leaving behind his past failures and playing a determined knock. Manjrekar elaborated:

"He also knew that and when you play Test cricket and your previous memory is not good, it is not easy to come and play confidently. But he showed a very good attitude in tough circumstances, he showed a lot of patience."

Well played, KL Rahul - playing a Test after 2 long years, was slotted in middle order then with 2 openers getting injured and made his opener again - scored 84 runs from 214 balls including 8 fours. Top come back, KL. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/hWDJtJPmUw

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 6, 2021

KL Rahul came into the Trent Bridge Test against England on the back of indifferent performances in the longest format of the game. The 29-year-old had scored just 578 runs at a mediocre average of 22.23 in his last 15 Tests.

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Sanjay Manjrekar on KL Rahul having worked on his technical deficiencies

KL Rahul acknowledged that he had worked on his shot selection

Sanjay Manjrekar added that KL Rahul seemed to have rectified his issues against deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty. He explained:

"The technical issue because of which he had gone out of the team, he was confused whether to play or leave the line outside off-stump but in this innings, it seemed he got some clarity on which ball to play and which to leave."

The 56-year-old signed off by speaking in glowing terms about KL Rahul rising to the occasion and delivering the goods for the team. Manjrekar observed:

"He has adopted a new technique as well, he is keeping the bat very close to his pads. Because of that, I feel he was able to play a big knock and when the innings was getting dependent on him, it was good to see that he carried the team's burden."

KL Rahul's knock helped India take a 95-run first-innings lead in the Nottingham Test. However, the visitors couldn't convert the lead into a win as the last day's play was washed out when the match was intriguingly poised.

England vs India | 1st Test | Top performersThe most-anticipated kick-off of the WTC 21/23 cycle might have been marred by rain but, there were a few spectacular performances from the Indian camp in the drawn game at Nottingham. Let's have a look.#PlayBold #TeamIndia #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/oTir94K6wG

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 9, 2021