T20 World Cup 2022: "Mera favorite color" - Twitter troll KL Rahul as 'minnow basher' ahead of Netherlands clash

Even with half a day still to go before India's match against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup, KL Rahul has already become a meme target on social media.

The opening batter scored only 4 (8) in India's tournament opener against Pakistan on Sunday. He looked tentative in his footwork against a half-fit Shaheen Afridi, edged multiple balls, and eventually played one onto his stumps against Naseem Shah.

Virat Kohli's Player-of-the-Match performance, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya's heroics stole the limelight during India's thrilling four-wicket win off the last ball. But as the hysteria piped down and the next match came close, players who failed in the crucial first match started to gain some attention.

Fans on Twitter pulled out Rahul's stats from multi-nation tournaments in recent months. These laid bare his inability to step up against tougher opponents in pressure situations while doing well against relatively weaker teams.

His showing in the last T20 World Cup (3 and 18 runs, respectively against Pakistan and New Zealand, followed by big scores after India were knocked out against relatively weaker teams) also got a mention. Fans envisaged another big score from the vice-captain on Thursday but admitted he'll be trolled regardless of it. Here are the best reactions:

"Time for KL Rahul to fire" - Reetinder Sodhi

The Lucknow Super Giants captain is under pressure from pundits as well. Speaking to India News, former cricketer Reetinder Sodhi said the right-hander needs to step up soon as India can't continue to rely on Kohli to bail them out.

He said:

“It’s time for KL Rahul to fire because we can’t depend on Virat Kohli for all matches, which we have done for the last 10-12 years. End of the day, it’s a team game."

The match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (where Rahul averages just 14.67 from three innings with a strike rate of 100). The game begins at 12:30 pm IST.