KL Rahul has been here before, but he needs to find a definitive way out

Over the past few years, not many topics have been debated as much as KL Rahul and his strike rate in the shortest format. In the late 2010s, and specifically up until 2018, he seemed to be the most gifted stroke-maker in India.

Since then, there have been glimpses of that innate brilliance, although they have largely been overshadowed by his reluctance to unfurl them.

On Monday, April 10, as the Lucknow Super Giants and the Royal Challengers Bangalore engaged themselves in an all-time IPL classic, that reared its head again. Of course, this knock, largely because of the pandemonium that unfolded towards the end, might be forgotten. But Rahul, Lucknow, and India would do well to look at it and draw their own respective conclusions.

Rahul is the most pertinent stakeholder in the long term. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where almost every batter got going, he struggled for rhythm. While that could be put down to bad form, his unwillingness to forcibly break out of that rut was what stuck out.

He scored 18 painstaking runs that came off 20 balls. In a run-chase where the required run rate was more than 10.5 runs per over, and at a ground where six-hitting is almost as easy as knocking a single down the ground.

A counter-argument exists that the LSG captain was concentrating on stitching a partnership with Marcus Stoinis and that the visitors needed some stability. But even on that count, 18 (20) was an extraordinarily archaic innings in T20 cricket.

That knock seemed even more perplexing considering the ease with which Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, and Stoinis struck the ball. When they batted, it felt as if the ball was coming into the bat nicely. When Rahul batted, it seemed to do all sorts of things.

Post the game against RCB, the LSG skipper raved about Pooran and Stoinis, saying that batters batting in their positions (5-7) win teams matches.

That, though, does not mean that the top order should leave them with a mountain to climb. It came off against RCB but there is no guarantee that that is a fool-proof plan, let alone the pressure it puts on these players who could do with a bit of freedom.

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KL Rahul risks the T20 game passing him by

The other aspect is that T20 and IPL cricket has evolved rapidly in the past couple of years. The 2023 season is on course to be the fastest scoring ever, and batting in the powerplay is as aggressive as it has ever been.

Even Virat Kohli, criticized at times for his slow starts, has thrown caution to the wind inside the powerplay as he has rarely ever done.

Rather than matching someone like Kohli stroke for stroke, which Rahul is very capable of, he has decided to retreat into his shell even more. In a team like LSG, which is blessed with stroke-makers throughout, that is very puzzling, for they have eye-watering depth and can try being gung-ho throughout.

The biggest problem, though, as stated before, is Rahul’s reluctance or lack of confidence to just take risks and not worry too much about the outcome. The way his international career has transpired in recent weeks, he could be forgiven for it.

But hey, this is KL Rahul we are talking about. The cricketer who was supposed to be the next big thing (and can still be) in Indian cricket. The batter who can hit every shot in the book and do so with sumptuous grace and elegance.

Those who have watched Rahul will testify that he is a much better player than he showed on Monday. The issue is that he, at this stage, seems unsure of what his best version is, at least in the shortest format, meaning that he now finds himself at a crossroads in his career.

He has, of course, been here. His displays evoke such a discussion almost every time an IPL season comes around. But this time, he needs to find a definitive way out of it. Partly because everyone is now bored of writing and talking about the same things, but largely because this patch right here could define Rahul as a cricketer.

There is uncertainty over his place in the Indian Test side, and if he keeps batting this way in the shortest format, he might not make it to India’s first-choice T20I eleven either. As far as the IPL is concerned, well, if this continues, his record will always have an asterisk attached to it.

Rahul is better than that. Much better, in fact. Perhaps it's time that he starts believing that too.