According to former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris, KL Rahul has a chance to shine for his team at the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, when India will clash with Pakistan in the highly-anticipated match.
The mouth-watering clash will be played on Sunday (August 28) at the Dubai International Stadium.
Rahul was out of action for several months before returning to the national side for the recently held Zimbabwe tour.
The Indian opener will become more fluent and get back into shape with the more time he spends in the middle, according to Styris, who stated that he is not concerned about the star batter's form.
"First of all, with regards to KL Rahul, I wouldn't be worried either. I'd be worried if he'd be facing 5-10 balls each innings but the last one in particular - 46 deliveries I think it was. If that's the case, it means that time in the middle is coming and that means that he will become more and more fluent, game time in the middle? Far more valuable than the nets. So, I expect he'll be ready to go against Pakistan," said Styris on Sports 18 show 'Sports Over The Top'.
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He added that Shaheen Afridi's absence from the Pakistan team due to a knee injury will benefit Rahul because the left-arm seamer highlights his weakness.
"Now, for that one? I'm with you though, I think he's going to go okay. The reason is for that is no Shaheen Afridi, we know that he's out injured, the way he attacks the stumps that is the way you get KL Rahul out. LBW and bowled. The fact that the main man who exposes that weakness is not there. I think KL Rahul has got an opportunity to be the star still, that we know he is because as Saba rightly pointed out, the pedigree is there," he added.
On the back of a brilliant season for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022, the 30-year-old was named captain for India's five-match T20I series against South Africa at home in June. However, on the eve of the first T20I, he suffered a groin injury that prevented him from playing. He later underwent a sports hernia surgery in Germany, which forced him to skip the entire England tour and ODI series against West Indies.
Rahul's return was further delayed as he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the T20I series against West Indies.
After his eventual comeback, he led the Men in Blue to a 3-0 ODI series sweep over Zimbabwe. However, he struggled with the bat, scoring 1 and 30 in the second and the third games respectively.
(NEWS18 INPUTS)
