“It's a Rahul that we have been yearning to see for such a long time” - Sunil Gavaskar hails Indian batter for Centurion knock

Team India legend Sunil Gavaskar lavished praise on KL Rahul after he scored an unbeaten 70 in challenging conditions on Day 1 of the Centurion Test against South Africa on Tuesday, December 26. According to Gavaskar, Rahul has come back as a completely different player since suffering a horrific injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 edition.

Rahul’s gritty half-century lifted India on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against the Proteas after the visitors lost their first three wickets with only 24 runs on the board. Batting in the middle order, the right-hander struck 10 fours and two sixes as India ended the day on 208/8 after 59 overs.

Reflecting on Rahul’s fighting knock, Gavaskar opined that the batter finally seems to be delivering to potential.

“We've known about his talent for such a long time, but we are getting to see it in the last eight, nine months, ever since he's come back from this horrific injury that he had in the IPL, it's a different Rahul. It's a Rahul that we have been yearning to see for such a long time and such a delight to see. I said it in commentary as well that this half century to me, is as good as a century,” he told Star Sports.

The 74-year-old went on to add that with his consistency with the willow over the last few months, the Indian batter has made himself “undroppable” across formats.

“That century at the Asia Cup, that first game was a very good century. You could say lucky that Shreyas Iyer did hurt his back and so he got an opportunity to get into the XI. But that's what you need in life. You need a bit of luck, but then you need to grab that with both hands. And that's what he's done. And now he's made himself undroppable in all three formats,” Gavaskar stated.

Rahul struck an impressive 111* off 106 balls in the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Colombo to mark a wonderful return to international cricket from injury.

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“Earlier on, he used to seem a little bit lost” - Gavaskar on Rahul

Gavaskar also opined that being out of the game due to injury seems to have rekindled the passion in the 31-year-old. He claimed that earlier Rahul looked a bit lost, but that hasn’t been the case since his comeback.

“When you're out of the game for such a long time, the game that you love, the game that has given you everything, almost everything, you tend to get a different perspective, and that's precisely what he seems to have done. And now, instead of looking at it as a chore, I think he's looking at it as a sport and to be enjoyed. Earlier on, he used to seem a little bit lost. He's not lost now. He's there, very much there,” he commented.

Rahul will resume his innings on Day 2 in Centurion with Mohammed Siraj (0*) giving him company. He will hope to stretch India’s total past the 250-run mark.