KL Rahul was in good form in the recently concluded Test series between India and South Africa. Rahul scored a brilliant century in the first innings of the first Test when the rest of the team fell apart. The series ended being leveled on 1-1 with South Africa winning the first Test and then India making a comeback in Cape Town to win the second Test by seven wickets to level the series.
After the second Test match, Sanjay Manjrekar praised KL Rahul for his fighting spirit in making his place in the team across all formats. He was thoroughly impressed by the century that Rahul scored in the first innings of the first Test at a tough SuperSport pitch in Centurion. However, the former India batter feels that KL Rahul faces competition from Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant for the N0.5 spot in the team. Rishabh Pant will be making a comeback in IPL 2024.
Appearing on Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “I think he (KL Rahul) is a guy who cares about every format. You know how he’s built to value every opportunity that he gets after he got that 100. You know, I am looking two years from now and I thought he’s really competing with Shreyas Iyer for a batting position in the middle order because the moment Rishabh Pant is fit, he becomes your keeper batter, and there’s great quality to Rishabh Pant batting and keeping as well.”
“That innings was just incredible (First Test hundred). Unfortunately, you know, Dean Elgar got a 180, they got 400 because we at the time thought that 260 was gonna be enough. And that was the moment if India could have latched onto, there would have been a series win in South Africa,” he added.
KL Rahul Has Proved Himself As A Perfect Replacement For Rishabh Pant
Ever since Rishabh Pant went out of the game following a near-fatal car accident, the Indian team tried a lot of wicket-keeper batters to replace him. They tried KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson. However, if one player that has impressed everyone with his performances as a middle-order batter and a wicketkeeper then it is KL Rahul who made an epic comeback after returning from his thigh injury in the Asia Cup 2023.
KL Rahul came back to the game in the Asia Cup and started to keep wickets alongside batting for India. He was India’s wicketkeeper batter in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and he performed extremely well in the tournament. Now he also has started keeping wickets in Test cricket and announced himself as a No.6 batter in Test cricket with a terrific hundred against South Africa in Centurion.
He will now face a tough challenge while keeping in Indian conditions when India faces England in a five-match Test series at home. The first Test will be played in Hyderabad starting from January 25. The Indian squad for the same will be announced shortly. Meanwhile, India has reclaimed the No.1 spot on the WTC points table after winning the Cape Town Test.
