"No media or ex-cricketer can tell players that your performance is not good" - When Gautam Gambhir backed an under-fire Indian batter 

Former India batter and current head coach Gautam Gambhir is known as someone who doesn't mince words even though some of his thoughts could be rather polarizing. It's no secret that he has firmly backed KL Rahul even though the talented player has often failed to live up to expectations.

In February 2023, Gambhir, who was then the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants, had vehemently defended Rahul even as the Karnataka batter was going through another lean run with the willow. The right-hander had managed less than 40 runs in three innings during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home.

Amid growing criticism of Rahul, Gambhir threw his weight behind the elegant batter and told Sports Tak at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi:

"People who are talking about KL Rahul don't know how tough international cricket is. I believe when a player is not performing he needs more backing compared to when he is playing well. Name one player who has scored runs from beginning to end. Everyone has faced that phase and you should back the talent.

"Each player in the dressing room knows whether he is scoring or not. No media or ex-cricketer can tell players that your performance is not good. Each player evaluates their performance. He should be left alone because we all know the quality player he is," Gambhir added.

Gambhir even gave the example of Rohit Sharma and said that the Indian batter struggled during the first few years of his international career before transforming himself into a match-winner.

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KL Rahul had a mixed run with the bat for India against Australia in BGT 2024-25

Rahul (32) was part of the Indian team that went down 3-1 to Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. The right-handed batter has a mixed run in the series, scoring 276 in 10 innings at an average of 30.67.

Rahul began BGT 2024-25 on an impressive note, scoring 77 in the second innings of the opening Test in Perth, which India won by 295 runs. He was dismissed for 37 & 7 in the Day-Night Test in Adelaide and followed up with scores of 84 and 4* in Brisbane.

Rahul ended the Test series on a disappointing note, though. He was dismissed for 24 & 0 in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. In the New Year Test in Sydney, he registered scores of 4 & 13.