Will be interesting to see where ‘most experienced batter’ KL Rahul is slotted, says WV Raman
WV Raman stated it will be interesting to see where KL Rahul, the team’s most experienced batter on the upcoming Test tour of England
Published on Jun 14, 2025
By IANS
- NEW DELHI — Former India men’s batter WV Raman stated it will be interesting
to see where KL Rahul, the team’s most experienced batter on the upcoming Test
tour of England, will bat in the lineup, given his skillset of making runs
irrespective of being moved up and down the batting order.
-
- With Rohit Sharma retiring from Tests, and barring any
last-minute surprises, Rahul is all but certain to be the opener alongside
Yashasvi Jaiswal. It also helps that Rahul, who has 58 Test caps, made an
assured 116 and 51 for India A against England Lions in the second multi-day
match in Northampton.
-
- Though there’s a school of thought which feels that
number five is where Rahul could add solidity, Rahul’s experience, patience and
ability to stay put against the moving ball, as well as guide young Jaiswal in
navigating difficult situations in England make him an ideal fit as the top of
the order.
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- “K.L. Rahul will
obviously need to step it up because he's the most experienced of the lot, and
he's also been around for a long time. He's got the temperament and he's
performed well in all the three formats for India in the past. So, there'll be
a lot of expectations as far as K.L. Rahul is concerned.”
-
- “It is going to be
very interesting as to where he's likely to be slotted right through the
series, because we've seen K.L. Rahul going up and down the order in almost
just about every format. The beauty of it is that he keeps getting runs as
well.”
-
- “But I think they
(Indian team think-tank) need to try and have a very clear idea of who's going
to be batting where right through the series, because in a five-match series,
you'll have the opportunity of sussing things out and also trying to zoom in on
the best possible combination that you could play for the later half of the
series where things really hot up,” said Raman to IANS in an exclusive
interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.
-
- On the other hand, young in-form left-handed batter B Sai
Sudharsan is being looked as the front-runner to bat at number three, though
Raman felt unsure of him being included in playing eleven for first two games
in Leeds and Birmingham.
-
- “I wonder if he'll
be playing in the first place in the first two Test matches, because the
batting order that I have in my mind does not feature him. But the team
management may think otherwise. They may even thrust him up the order. They'll
perhaps give him the chances because he's in good nick, and he's also shown
good temperament.”
-
- “But as far as
he's concerned, he's a guy who's had a feel of the English conditions by the
way of playing in the English county seasons in the past. He's got a good
temperament, and is someone who's a quick learner. I'm sure that if he gets a
string of opportunities, he'll definitely perform as he's done in the past in
every particular level that he's played so far,” he added.
-
- Though England’s bowling attack for the first Test looks
thin with injuries to Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson, Raman cautioned
that a not-so solid Indian batting line-up can’t afford to take the hosts’
bowling line-up lightly in pacer-friendly conditions in Leeds, when the first
Test starts on June 20.
-
- “See, let's not take the other seamers lightly, because
they have played all their cricket under those conditions, and they know what
to do. They may not have really picked up a lot of wickets in international
cricket or in Test cricket. But they know what it takes to pick up wickets in
English conditions, and let's not underestimate Chris Woakes. He is a good
bowler and (Jamie) Overton can be good as well on his day.”
-
- “They also have (Brydon) Carse, who is also a handful
when the conditions are right. So if the conditions are right and if the
English batters put enough runs on the board, I think they do have the
wherewithal to challenge the Indian batters. Let's not forget that the Indian
batting is also not really very solid. Yes, there is a lot of talent, but it
remains to be seen how they handle tougher conditions.”
-
- “That is something that will give even the current
England bowling attack a lot of encouragement. To back all these fast bowlers,
you always have the skipper, Ben Stokes, who has the knack of picking up
wickets at the right time, and that's another thing they will be banking on,”
he concluded.
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- The much-anticipated India tour of England, starting from
June 20, will be shown live and exclusive on the Sony Sports Network channels.
