Why is Rahul being persisted with?

NEW DELHI: KL Rahul’s continuation in the Test team, despite his repeated failures, is proving to be one of the most curious cases in Indian cricket.

Not many have survived the kind of failures that Rahul has endured in the longest format. Fewer have received such unwavering support from the who’s who of Indian cricket, making for a fascinating watch. So, why is he being persisted with? There are varied opinions, but for the men who matter, he is precious.

In recent months, former skipper Virat Kohli, current captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour have thrown their weight behind Rahul, who has been under pressure for quite some time now.

After reaching his much-awaited 71st international hundred, against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai last year, Kohli, in a chat with Rohit for BCCI TV, talked about what Rahul brings to the table. Nearly six months have passed since that interaction and calls for Rahul’s ouster have reached a crescendo after three successive failures (20, 17 and 1) against Australia. Prior to facing Australia, Rahul had four scores of under 25 against Bangladesh.

What has surprised many is the carte blanche that the Dravid-led team management has given to the Karnataka man. In the last two weeks, three key members have dead batted questions on Rahul’s form, but there was something eerily similar in their defence.

During the Nagpur Test, Rathour, also a former national selector, was asked about Rahul’s form. Initially, he did not wish to comment but then spoke about the opening batter’s last two Test hundreds. “To be fair to KL, he has scored two hundreds in his last 10 Tests – one in England and other in South Africa – and also has a couple of fifties,” Rathour said.

Shift to Delhi, at the post-match interactions of Dravid and Rohit, the basic narrative on Rahul seemed to be cut from the same cloth. “It is not just about KL, but anyone. If you look at a couple of hundreds he got outside India (England and SA, both in 2021). One of the best I have seen from KL, especially the one at Lord’s.

“Batting on that damp pitch in England, [that too] after losing the toss and [being] put in to bat is never easy. He (Rahul) put a great performance there and Centurion was another one. India won both those games. That is the potential he has,” Rohit was all praise for his then vice-captain. Dravid said almost the same thing in a reconstructed way. “We will back him (Rahul) as far as possible,” Dravid told.