KL Rahul’s place in the Indian team has become a topic of debate.
Rahul was preferred in India’s starting XI over the in-form Shubman Gill even though he scored only 57 in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in December 2022.
However, the right-handed opener failed to repay the faith of the team management, registering scores of 20, 17 and 1 across the three innings in Nagpur and Delhi. As a result, he is drawing flak from the fans and experts, with many of them questioning his spot in the side.
Amid the debate, former West Indies cricketer-turned-commentator Ian Bishop has come in support of KL Rahul, saying that the latter will find his way to get back in form.
“I have no comments on the debate. I think it’s part and parcel of every cricketer’s life. I’ve been through it as a player and it’s just that it’s more magnified by a thousand more times that it would be in some countries. That’s because the population size is so big," Bishop told One Cricket.
“Looking from the outside, you sort of think to yourself ‘Ok, it’s good to have debate’ but at the end of the day, the guy is a human being," he added.
“To see his name being trolled through social media is not an easy thing. He is a talented cricketer; he will find his way in different formats will take some time. I don’t want to get into that personal debate. Guys are going personally at each other. That’s not the way it should be. Just talk about it," he further remarked.
KL Rahul has also been stripped of the vice-captaincy for the remaining two Tests against Australia in Indore and Ahmedabad.
It remains to be seen whether he finds a place in the playing XI or not for the third Test, slated to get underway on March 1.