The curious case of Kl Rahul
KL Rahul’s career trajectory has been a fascinating blend of promise, transformation, and recent challenges. Before 2021, Rahul was widely hailed as India’s next big star due to his consistent white-ball performances. As an opener in T20Is and a dependable No. 5 in ODIs, he became indispensable in both formats, even as he struggled to secure a permanent spot in the Test side.
From 2021 onward, however, Rahul shifted his focus towards adapting his game for the Test arena. He made a notable technical change, modifying his wider, third-man-directed backlift into a more vertical, keeper-facing stance. While this adjustment made his stance more compact, it restricted his ability to play expansive shots. His ODI stats reveal this shift: after an impressive strike rate of 106 in 2020, his strike rate dropped significantly to 80.1 in 2022.
In T20Is, his performance followed a similar trend. Before 2021, his strike rate in a calendar year had never dipped below 140. However, in 2021, it declined to 130, and in 2022, it slipped further to 126. Alongside these technical adjustments, a growing lack of confidence seemed to impact his game, leading to a decline in his Test performances as well, as his natural fluency gave way to a more cautious approach.
However, despite these challenges, Rahul enjoyed a strong showing in the 2023 World Cup. His performances were impressive throughout the tournament, where he managed to employ his revised stance successfully. Yet, in the final, his conservative approach resurfaced. Australia’s bowlers effectively restricted him by exploiting his compact stance, denying him the room needed to play his natural game.
Still, KL Rahul’s story is far from over. His talent, experience, and adaptability suggest that he has every potential to make a comeback across all formats. If he can overcome this mental hurdle and rediscover his instinctive aggression, Rahul could once again cement himself as an all-format regular, fulfilling his promise of becoming one of India’s most reliable stars
