India vs Sri Lanka | K L Rahul's evolving role in the Indian team - Deccan Herald

<p>Galle: K L <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/kl-rahul">Rahul</a> is one of India’s top cricketers, and few inspire opinions as sharply divided as he does. Not because he actively courts controversy; if anything, he is among the few players who is polished in his speech, weighs his words carefully and steers clear of saying anything remotely inflammatory, save for a forgettable episode on a TV show a few years ago.</p><p>The contrasting views he generates are mostly about his game. While a huge army of fans fiercely backs him, there is also a sizeable section, particularly on social media, that is quick to nitpick. If he scores a century in a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/test">Test</a>, it is not big enough, and if he strikes at 140 in a T20, it is not fast enough. So imagine the criticism when he fails to score. Even on Sunday, when he made 82 after resuming at 77 here in the first Test, there were plenty of unhappy souls.</p>.India reach 460/9 at stumps on Day 2 against Sri Lanka in first Test.<p>A career that began with a classy hundred in only his second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground almost 11 years ago has seen more twists and turns than most. Long injury layoffs, indifferent form and repeated shuffling of his batting position have all played a part in his career falling short of expectations, despite the obvious wealth of talent he possesses.</p><p>The right-hander would be the first to admit that his career average should be higher than the 36.82 runs per innings it currently stands at. He would concede, without argument, that he should have more than the 12 hundreds he has to his name. </p><p>But with his career now closer to the finish line than the beginning, Rahul appears to be on a mission to narrow the gap between his potential and his performance.</p><p>While his international white-ball career is now restricted to ODIs, where he also keeps wicket, in Test cricket he finally appears to have found the sweet spot. This has been most evident over the last year, although the signs were already visible during the 2023-24 Test series against South Africa.</p><p>With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from red-ball cricket, Rahul, now the team’s deputy, is the senior-most specialist batter in the side. And that status brings its own responsibilities. It is not just his performance with the bat that is expected of him. He has to mentor the younger players, share the expertise accumulated over more than a decade of international cricket across the globe, and guide his team-mates through situations on the field. </p><p>According to his team-mates and members of the support staff, the 34-year-old has been doing all those duties.</p><p>“See, he is someone, when he plays one-day cricket, he bats at number 5, 6 or whatever is required of him. And he opens in Tests,” began Indian team’s assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak when asked about Rahul’s evolving role in the team. </p>.India vs Sri Lanka | Leading country in our 600th Test is a big honour, says Gill.<p>“So, I feel when you are a senior batsman, and if you are open to batting at any number and helping the team, I think that is a great player to have. So for a team, he is someone who is very useful. Now, the way he is batting, he is taking a lot of responsibility, he is trying to create a lot of partnerships, and that is something really good to have, and he has been very, very consistent. That is a great positive for us with a very young team; a senior guy who is doing whatever the team requires.”</p><p>The consistency he has achieved with the bat over the last three years, during which he has piled up 1,593 runs in 22 Tests at an average of 44.25, appears to have put him in a good mind-space and enabled him to shoulder those wider responsibilities. </p><p>His innings in the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka was another happy extension of that run, during which he has produced five of his 12 career hundreds.</p><p>And if there is anything left to nitpick, as his detractors do, it is this: Rahul needs to turn more of those starts into hundreds, and more of those hundreds into daddy hundreds.</p>