‘His average is not acceptable for an opener – Dinesh Karthik blasts KL Rahul amidst his poor form

Indian opener, KL Rahul has been under severe criticism for his poor batting performances at the 2022 World Cup and in the, recently concluded, Test series against Bangladesh. The fans are frustrated to see him not stepping up when the team need him the most.

Once again, in pursuit of a 145-run target in the second Test against Bangladesh, KL Rahul got out cheaply for just 2 runs in 7 balls. In 4 innings in the Test series, he could manage to score just 57 runs at an average of 14.25.

Indian’s veteran cricketer, Dinesh Karthik also criticized the Indian opener for his lackluster batting numbers as an opener in Test Cricket. Karthik highlighted KL Rahul’s below-par average in Test Cricket as an opener and reckons that Shubman Gill could replace him if he doesn’t manage to score a couple of hundreds in the upcoming Test series against Australia.

“I would give KL those couple of Test matches, but if things don’t go KL Rahul’s way… The one thing that does go against him is the fact that he has played over 40 Tests and his average is just mid-30s. That is not acceptable for an opener. That is one of the lowest among Indian players for sure, who have played 35 Test matches.

“That is something that he needs to definitely work on. That will be on his mind. If he wants to cement his place in the Test team, he needs to get a couple of hundreds against Australia. Otherwise, you can definitely see a change, with Shubman Gill doing so well,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

KL Rahul led the team in the Test series against Bangladesh in the absence of regular skipper, Rohit Sharma, who is, currently, nursing an injury. India will be next playing against Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series and there are speculations that KL Rahul might miss out due to his marriage.

Hardik Pandya will be tasked to lead the team, while Virat Kohli is expected to rest.