Former Indian national cricket team batsman Dinesh Karthik has backed star batsman KL Rahul to serve as the Test cricket team's long-term opener.
Dinesh Karthik believes KL Rahul should be judged on the excellent performances he has delivered in overseas matches and deserves a longer rope as an opener.
Read also: 'I made a promise in 2012': Ravichandran Ashwin accidentally reveals truth behind sudden retirement
KL Rahul shone in BGT 2024-25
The 32-year-old Rahul has emerged as one of the best batsmen for the Indian team in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He looked the most settled in the middle of all the batsmen and handled the threat of the dangerous Australian pacers quite well.
KL Rahul got the opportunity to open the innings for India in the ongoing series after impressing everyone with his heroics in the Test match in Perth.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul did a fantastic job as he opened the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal and posted scores of 26 and 77. He failed in the pink ball Test match with scores of 37 and 7. However , he made a comeback in the Gabba Test and played a wonderful knock of 84 in the first innings.
With seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli going through a lean spell, Rahul has taken it upon himself to lead India's batting unit very well and his form will be crucial for the team heading into the final two Test matches of the five-match series.
“I think in KL Rahul we have the opener India needs” – Dinesh Karthik
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said that the Indian team management should extend support to KL Rahul even after he fails in a series as he has great potential to serve as the team's long-term opener.
“I think in KL Rahul we have the opener that India needs. I hope they will continue to support him. If, next year, there's going to be a series where he has a few low scores, I hope people don't have short memories. We must appreciate what he did and what he is doing today. That matters a lot. People often forget that many Test cricketers are judged by what they do abroad. And Rahul was as good as anyone who has played for the country over a long period of time.”
“People always complain about his consistency” – Dinesh Karthik
Rahul played 56 Test matches for the Indian national cricket team and scored 3216 runs at an average of 34.58. His numbers don't really describe his true potential and many cricket legends have opined that a player of Rahul's caliber should average around 50 in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik admitted that Rahul is not among the most consistent players and said that he is a much better player than what his average shows, especially in overseas conditions.
“People always complain about his consistency; I don't want to use that word. But he takes it upon himself. His average shows that. But he is much better than that. He is someone who is much, much better than that.
“But if you take any Indian team that plans to tour abroad, he will be one of the first names on that list because you know exactly what you will get from him,” he added.