Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was impressed with India batsman KL Rahul after his performance in the first Test against England. Manjrekar admitted that he felt someone else should have played over Rahul at Trent Bridge.
India lost Shubman Gill ahead of the Test series due to a shin injury. The backup opener Mayank Agarwal was supposed to play the first Test but a head injury sustained in the net session ruled him out and it made the team management open with Rahul, who last played a Test for India around two years ago.
"I was impressed as well as extremely happy for KL Rahul. I have been regularly saying that he failed in Test matches for 4-5 series, so I was feeling that someone else should be given a chance in the Indian Test squad or Test XI because KL Rahul was not giving good performances in Test cricket.
"He also knew that and when you play Test cricket and your previous memory is not good, it is not easy to come and play confidently. But he showed a very good attitude in tough circumstances, he showed a lot of patience," he said while speaking on Sony Sports after the first Test.
Rahul is very serious about Test cricket and Manjrekar felt it after seeing his improvement. As per him, the Indian opener worked on his weakness and looked good in tackling the deliveries in the corridor of uncertainty.
"The technical issue because of which he had gone out of the team, he was confused whether to play or leave the line outside off-stump but in this innings, it seemed he got some clarity on which ball to play and which to leave," Manjrekar said.
"He has adopted a new technique as well, he is keeping the bat very close to his pads. Because of that, I feel he was able to play a big knock and when the innings was getting dependent on him, it was good to see that he carried the team's burden," he added.
