“I hope people don’t have short memories”

The former Indian national cricket team wicketkeeper and batsman Dinesh Karthik has backed star batsman KL Rahul to serve as the team’s long-term opener in Test cricket.

Dinesh Karthik feels that KL Rahul should be judged on the excellent performances he has put in in overseas matches and deserves a longer rope as an opener.

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KL Rahul has shone in BGT 2024-25

The 32-year-old Rahul has emerged as one of the best batsmen for the Indian team in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He has looked the most settled in the middle among all the batsmen and has handled the threat of the dangerous Australian pacers quite well.

KL Rahul got a chance to open the innings for India in progress series after impressing everyone with his heroics in the Perth Test match.

In the absence of Rohit SharmaKL Rahul did a fantastic job as he opened the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal and posted scores of 26 and 77. He failed in the pink ball test match as he posted scores of 37 and 7. However, he he recovered in the Gabba Test. and played a wonderful knock of 84 runs in the first innings.

Like seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli They have gone through a rough patch, Rahul has shouldered the responsibility of leading the Indian batting unit very well, and his form will be crucial for the team heading into the final two Test matches of the five-match series.

“I think, in KL Rahul, we have the opening that India needs” – Dinesh Karthik

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said that the Indian team management should back KL Rahul even after failing in a series as he has great potential to serve as a long-term opener.

“I think in KL Rahul we have the opening that India need. I hope they continue to support him. If there is a series next year where he has a couple of low scores, I hope people don’t have short memories .We have to appreciate what he has done and what he is doing today.People often forget that many Test cricketers are judged by what they do abroad.And Rahul has been as good as anyone played in the country for a period prolonged”.

“People always complain about their consistency” – Dinesh Karthik

Rahul has featured in 56 Test matches for the Indian national cricket team and has scored 3216 runs at an average of 34.58. His numbers don’t really represent his true potential and many cricket legends have opined that a player of Rahul’s caliber should average around 50 in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik admitted that Rahul is not among the most consistent players and said that he is a much better player than his average shows, especially in foreign conditions.

“People always complain about their consistency; I don’t want to use that word. But he assumes it. His average shows it. But he is much better than that. He is someone who is much, much better than that.

“But if you bring any Indian team that is planning to tour abroad, it will be one of the first names on that list because you know exactly what you will get from it,” he added.