The Sensational batsman has been in top form in all the three divisions for Team India. The Banglorean is bagging all the given opportunities and he’s cementing his position very well. Rahul was an integral part of many teams before he dawned the national jersey. He represented Bangalore in U- 13, 15, 17, 19, 23 before playing in the Ranji Circuit.
In the 2013-14 Ranji Edition, Rahul created waves in domestic cricket as he posted over 1,000 runs. He piled up 1158 runs in 15 matches at a staggering average of 52.63 with 3 centuries and four fiftiesunder his belt.
Rahul’s performances were noticed and soon landed himself in Cricket’s most favourite franchise league, He was bought for Rs.1Crore by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and he was a regular member in the squad as Wicketkeeper-Batsman.
After some decent outings with the “India A” side, he was drafted into the Test side which toured Australia in 2014.His debut match was nothing short of a disaster, as he could just score he scored 3 runs in the 1st innings and 1 run in the 2nd innings . He didn’t succumb to the pressure and he proved the critics wrong by scoring a Century in his second match, which being the 1st time he opened the innings for India.
His performance in the 1st test against Sri-Lanka wasn’t much appreciated as he could culminate just 12 runs in both the innings combined. He came back strong by scoring a century in the next match in the series at Colombo.
Rahul was Bought back by his local IPL side, Royal Challengers Banglore in the 2016 edition of IPL and he had tremendously improved his skills in the shorter format of the game as he got a good amount of exposure playing under Kohli, Gayle and Watson. He played 14 matches and he scored 397 runs averaging at a healthy rate of 44, apart from being explosive at the top, he was exceptional at keeping the wickets for RCB.
He was then added to the limited overs side which toured Zimbabwe under MS Dhoni in 2016 june. He stayed till the very end in his debut match ensuring India’s victory; he also added his name to the prestigious list of players who have scored a ton in their Debut ODI. After a successful ODI series, the side played the opposition in the T20 format, but things weren’t good for Rahul as he was sent back for a golden duck in his Debut T20 match. He came back strong in his second game as he scored a 47* with a strike rate of 117.
The Indian side then toured the West Indies for a 4 match test series. Rahul couldn’t get a place initially, but he then replaced the injured Murli Vijay in the second Test. He capitalized on his opportunity and scored a brilliant 158, the match ended in a draw but he ensured another game in the series because of his scintillating ton, Rahul then scored a 50 in the 3rd test where India posted 357 in the first innings. India went on to win the 3rd test and the series as the 4th test ended in a draw due to rain.
The exclusion of two senior players, Raina & Yuvraj gave space to Rahul to showcase his talent in the T20 series which is now being played at Florida, USA. The West Indies side pounced back with a brilliant display of batting by taking advantage of a near flat pitch and they scored a mammoth 245-6. KL Rahul emerged as the top scorer for the Indian team as he posted a record breaking 110* in 51 deliveries and he thus became the fastest Indian to score a ton in any format, India needed 8 from the final over but couldn’t cross the line as DJ Bravo dismissed the Indian skipper Dhoni on the final ball where 2 runs were required. Though Rahul’s century went in vain, it ensured that the future of Indian batting is in safe and reliable hands.
– By Akshath Jeksani
