KL Rahul has impressed one and all with his exploits as a wicketkeeper middle-order batter in One-Day Internationals.

During the recently held ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Rahul batted at No. 5 and amassed 452 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.33, including one hundred and two half-centuries.

After excelling in the middle-order job, Rahul now wants to expand his horizons beyond the 50-over format.

According to a Cricbuzz report, Rahul wants to embrace the middle-order role in Test cricket as well in the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants to revive his T20I career.  

The report claimed that Rahul is likely to be preferred as wicketkeeper batter for the upcoming two Tests against South Africa ahead of Ishan Kishan, who made his red-ball debut during the tour of West Indies in July this year.

After the Test series in South Africa, India will host England in a five-match Test series. So, Rahul will get seven Test matches (if he plays all of them) and the entire IPL 2024 season to prove his mettle as a middle-order batter in formats other than ODI.

"He wants to evolve himself as a middle-order batsman across formats and establish himself there," Cricbuzz quoted a source as saying.

KL Rahul’s last Test appearance was against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. He opened in the first two Tests but managed to score only 38 runs in three innings. As a result, he was dropped from the last two Tests of the series.

Rahul hasn’t been considered for selection in T20Is after India’s T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final exit. In the forthcoming IPL season, he will bat in the middle-order, which was on the expected lines after Lucknow Super Giants traded Devdutt Padikkal for Avesh Khan with Rajasthan Royals. Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers are the other opening options in LSG’s squad.

(With Cricbuzz Inputs)