“Kl Rahul Doesn’t Have That Full Freedom,” Shane Watson on Rahul’s Poor Run of Form

One of the big admirers of KL Rahul and his batting, Shane Watson is of the opinion that the out-of-form Indian batter should be allowing himself the freedom to play to his potential, express himself, and take the game on. Rahul has been struggling for runs in the last few months and for that reason, he was left out of the playing XI of the last two Tests of the ongoing series between India and Australia. The statement came amid Rahul’s dismal show with the bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After Rahul failed in the first two Tests of the ongoing series, he lost his vice-captaincy in Tests and was also dropped from the side after a long run of poor scores with the bat. The right-handed batter mustered just 38 runs across three innings at a poor average of 12.66 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shubman Gill justified his selection in Rahul’s place with a majestic century in the ongoing fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad. Speaking to Hindustan Times about Rahul, Watson opines the biggest thing that Rahul should do is allow himself the freedom to take the game on, adding that he’s not doing justice to the ability he has got.

Watson Highlights Rahul’s Problem

“The biggest thing about KL Rahul would be allowing himself the freedom just to take the game on. What Shubman Gill has done is come in and, yes, he is playing on a very nice batting track as compared to the other Test matches. But again, Gill is full of confidence and has got that real young exuberance with his aggression in taking on the game. Unfortunately for Rahul, because he is concerned about his spot, he just doesn’t have that full freedom and fluency to make use of the skill that he has got. I am a huge fan of Rahul. I love the way he plays. Beautiful to watch,” Shane Watson said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

India will play a three-match ODI series against Australia, starting March 17. In all likelihood, Rahul will be doing the wicket-keeping duties in the ODIs in the upcoming series. While Rahul’s form in Test and T20 might have dipped, he has performed well in the ODIs averaging over 44.

The Karnataka batter seems to have found a perfect template in the middle order in the one-day format. The three ODIs against Australia will begin on March 17. Hardik Pandya will lead India in the first ODI with skipper Rohit Sharma missing his home ODI due to family commitments.