Only a season back, KL Rahul was down in the dumps. He was not getting runs, was involved in a controversy off the field and his form looked dismal across formats.
He went back to the basics and improved his skills in domestic cricket. It proved to to be a masterstroke.?
Rahul piled up 598 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and in 8 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches made 313 runs. But what stood out was his keeping with a combined tally of 17 catches and 2 stumpings.?
Stepping up to fill in the wicketkeeping role following a concussion to Rishabh Pant in the opening contest of the three-match series against Australia, Rahul weighed in with his past experience.
After two fine performances and given his past record in the Indian Premier League (IPL), it seems Rahul has opened up an extra-batsman slot for the skipper. As the team heads to New Zealand, Kohli hinted that the 27-year-old will continue to keep wickets in the limited-overs formats.
"If he (Rahul) can keep wickets and bat that well in that position, we will have to persist with that a little bit and see where that takes us and not necessarily be confused about the other options we have. I think lack of clarity in terms of positions has hurt us in the past.
?Now that we understand that this feels right, we will go ahead with that for a while and figure out if this is the right thing to do or not. You can chip and change immediately and create confusion among the group. Don't see any reason why we should change this balance. It has done well for the team and we will continue with the same for a while," said Kohli.
Drawing a parallel between Rahul Dravid's wicketkeeping role during the 2003 World Cup and the current situation, Kohli said, "It definitely allows us to play an extra batsman, which strengthens out batting massively.?
That is a very important factor as far as the team balance is concerned. If you look at the 2003 World Cup where Rahul (Dravid) bhai started keeping, the balance became different because you could play an extra batsman and guys at the top could really play positive cricket."
Pointing towards Rahul's adaptability as an added advantage, Kohli added, "He is very open to playing anywhere because he is a proper batsman and does you good in any format and any position in the game. He won't go slam-bang from ball one but he can do what he did in Rajkot - just playing good cricketing shots. So, I think a solid game plan and understanding of his game is helping. He has reflected on what he needs to do in the last five six months and he has come a long way. Good signs for us. Gives a boost to the team because he keeps as well."
This does not look good for Pant though. Kohli was one of his backers. With Rahul getting the job of keeper, it means the youngster has to work harder in order to get back into the team. The door seems to be closing and it is not a good sign.?