The two-match Test series between India and Bangladesh is going to start from September 19. Both teams are ready. Even before the start of the series, the rhetoric from Bangladesh has increased. Amidst all this, captain Rohit Sharma held a press conference. In the press conference, Rohit was questioned about KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan. Rohit directly supported Rahul and also praised his game. But the thing to think about is why KL Rahul's position in the team is questioned before the start of every series? Being an Indian cricket fan, sometimes we become overly aggressive on KL Rahul.

Rahul has become a soft target in the last few years, whatever the format. But whenever Rahul has been questioned, he has answered the critics with his batting.

Team India's 'crisis man'

In 2014, KL Rahul made his Test debut at the historic MCG ground. In the same series, Rahul also scored his first century in Sydney. Rahul's performance in the initial phase of his career was such that people started calling him the next Virat Kohli. But the problems started from the 2018 England tour when Rahul was dropped from the Test team due to poor form. After being dropped from the Test, KL Rahul was trolled.

After so much criticism on social media, questions started being raised on Rahul in white ball cricket as well. Rahul was in the squad in the 2019 World Cup but got a chance to open when Shikhar Dhawan got injured. But Rahul made the most of this opportunity. He batted brilliantly throughout the tournament with Rohit. Scored 361 runs. Scored 2 half-centuries and 1 century. He was at the third position after Rohit-Virat in terms of scoring runs in the World Cup. But still the trolls did not leave Rahul alone.

It was the year 2021 T20 World Cup when Team India not only lost to Pakistan for the first time on the World Cup stage but also got eliminated from the tournament from the group stage itself.

Although the entire team performed poorly, only Rahul was blamed. The situation remained the same in the 2022 T20 World Cup as well. After this, Rahul was dropped from the 2024 T20 World Cup. Team India became the champion and the trolls again started saying that since Rahul was not in the team this time, that is why Team India won the trophy.

Meanwhile, the ODI World Cup also came. Rishabh Pant had an accident due to which auditions for wicketkeeper batsman started in the team.

There were many contenders. Ishan Kishan, who had scored a double century, was also an option. In such a situation, Rahul, who was returning to the team after a long time after injury and surgery, was told in plain words that if you want to make a place in the team, you will have to do wicketkeeping. Rahul gave a befitting reply to everyone here too. Not only did he do excellent wicketkeeping throughout the tournament, but also won many matches by batting at number 5 in ODIs. Batting at number 5 was also a big challenge for Rahul because Shubman had already secured his place with Rohit in the opening slot. But like every time, this time also Rahul did not give up and today he has become Team India's specialist finisher in the ODI format.

If KL Rahul is there then there is hope

It has been seen in the last few years that Team India has been dependent on Rohit and Virat to a great extent. If these two players do not perform well, there is no player in the batting order who can give the fans the assurance of victory. Even in the World Cup final, Rahul was India's hope after Kohli was out. He had played more than 100 balls on a slow wicket. Recently, on the South Africa tour, the team was in trouble once again and Rahul, along with the tail-enders, scored a century and pulled the team out of trouble. Even in the Duleep Trophy, on a difficult wicket where the pitch was considered to be the death knell for batsmen, Rahul played a fighting innings of 37 runs in 111 balls in the first innings and 57 runs in 121 balls in the second innings. Especially against Bangladesh on a wicket like Chennai where the ball is bound to turn, Rahul gives confidence and hope in the middle order. The Bangladesh team is coming after defeating Pakistan in its home ground. The confidence of the bowlers is high. The spinners will be more enthusiastic. In such a situation, Rahul is a great option in the middle order who is one of the best spin players in the Indian team.

Rahul is not blessed with luck

How fair is it to compare Rahul with young Sarfaraz Khan even after proving himself so many times, be it on foreign soil or in domestic series? Every time Rahul has been in his best form, his body has not supported him. Rahul has had a long-standing relationship with injuries. What else can you call this if not bad luck? Earlier this year, in the Test series against England, Rahul was in great form in the first two Tests but had to be ruled out of the last 3 Tests due to injury. Despite being in great form in 2016-17, Rahul was ruled out of the West Indies tour due to injury. He had to be ruled out of the 2016 England series due to injury while training in the nets. In 2019, Rahul also had to face suspension by BCCI due to Hardik Pandya's mess in an episode of the talk show 'Koffee with Karan'.

still have a lot to prove

There is no doubt that KL Rahul is an amazing player. Probably the number of centuries Rahul has scored abroad and the conditions in which he has scored these centuries is the dream of many players even today. Whether it is his comparison with Kohli or the praise given by captain Rohit Sharma himself, Rahul has achieved a lot in his career. If the captain is constantly saying good things about you then obviously you are a player of that level but Rahul still has a lot to achieve.

Virat Kohli who scored so many centuries in his entire career, won countless matches for India on his own, but even after this when he did not score a century for 2 years, people started talking. So the overall point is that to become a legend from a good player, you have to do the same thing again and again. It is said that 'consistency is the key'. KL Rahul has to understand that even after achieving so much in his career, consistency is one thing that he has not been able to achieve. He will have to do this in the coming time so that he can complete the journey from being a good talented cricketer to a legend.