KL Rahul: India's next big batting sensation has arrived

The Karnataka batsman made the most of Murali Vijay’s injury to earn his first MOM award in Sri Lanka

Seizing the opportunities

With the focus shifting to the ODI series and the 2015 World Cup, Rahul headed back to the grinds of the domestic circuit but with rejuvenated confidence and it showed as he became the first triple-centurion for Karnataka in first-class cricket on 30 January 2015, scoring 337 off 448 balls at Bengaluru against Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy match.

Despite yet another disappointing IPL campaign, this time, for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rahul was very much in favour as far as the Test format was concerned and found a place for himself in the tour to Sri Lanka after missing out on the one-off Test againstBangaldesh due to dengue.

With Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in the ranks, Rahul was the reserve opener in the side but as luck would have it, Vijay got injured ahead of the first Test handing Rahul a place in the playing eleven. Rahul failed to impress though and it looked as if the big chance to stake his claim for a permanent spot had gone. However, Rahul’s fortunes were on the rise with Dhawan getting injured and this time around, Rahul seized the unexpected chance with both hands.

Having lost the opening Test on a rank turner at the Galle, India were desperately looking for answers from their batsmen and Rahul stood up and delivered with his second Test century that earned him his first international Man-of-the-Match award and more importantly helped the visitors level the series, before eventually securing a series victory.

He failed, however, to make it to the playing eleven in any of the four Tests in the home series against South Africa and with the focus shifting to T20 cricket in the lead up to the 2016 World T20, Rahul understood that he needed to change the general perception that he was a Test specialist and he did just that with a stellar 2016 IPL campaign.

Making the transition as an all-format player

A stellar 2016 IPL campaign for RCB brought Rahul into contention for India’s limited-overs sides

Having scored only 142 runs from 9 matches during the 2015 IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t think much before parting with Rahul ahead of the 2016 edition as the RCB brought the player back in a bid to bolster their middle-order with the Karnataka player’s return also meaning a better connect with the fans.

Rahul warmed the bench for RCB’s first two games of the season before Chris Gayle’s short return to the West Indies after becoming a father for the first time gave Rahul an opportunity to show his T20 credentials. Many criticised Kohli’s decision to open the innings with Rahul and the latter didn't do much to repay his skipper’s faith returning with scores of 23 and 7 as well as fumbling a few chances behind the stumps as the RCB’s stand-in wicketkeeper.

RCB planned to bring in T20 specialist Mandeep Singh in Rahul's place for the game against Gujarat Lions in Rajkot but an unfortunate injury after the toss meant that Rahul retained his place and he went on to make his maiden IPL fifty off just 34 balls and there has been no looking back since.

He went on to score three more half-centuries to finish off as the team’s third highest run-getter with 397 runs in their run to the finals against his former side. The story of luck playing its part and ending up on the losing side continued but Rahul proved that he is not just a player for Test cricket.

A player for all seasons

Rahul became the first Indian to score an ODI century on debut with his unbeaten knock of 100 against Zimbabwe

The limited-overs series against Zimbabwe gave the Indian selectors the perfect opportunity to try out Rahul and the batsman didn’t disappoint as he became the first Indian cricketer to score an ODI century on debut. He produced solid displays in the remaining two 50-over matches as well as the three-match T20 series and as the only player in the touring party who was selected for the four-Test series in the West Indies, Rahul knew that there was no time to rest.

Rahul had to once again step aside though as India opted for the experienced pairing of Dhawan and Vijay to open the innings in the series opener at Antigua and with the visitors winning the match in convincing fashion, it seemed that the Karnataka cricketer would have to warm the benches. But as we have seen earlier, injury played a part as Vijay missed out of the Jamaica Test in which Rahul scored 158 runs to bring up his third Test century against three different opposition on their own turf.

The hastily arranged T20 series against the West Indies gave Rahul another crack at the shortest format of the game and with his blistering knock on Saturday, he has shown that he truly belongs at the international level. Centuries in Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Jamaica and now the USA, Rahul has proved that there is no surface that is beyond his capabilities.

Being equally adept at all three formats is no joke and Rahul has found a way to fine-tune his game at the highest level in a small amount of time. That too when he has not been afforded a consistent run in the side. But just like his idol, Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul has stood up in whatever little international cricket he has played thus far to stand up and deliver when the team has asked him to do.

Rahul might be a long way off from matching Kohli’s feats but the way he has started out in international cricket surely means that Indian cricket has found their big batting sensation.