Top-order batter and stand-in India skipper KL Rahul continues to disappoint with the bat as he added yet another poor performance in the ongoing Test match against Bangladesh. India are playing against the Bangla Tigers in a two-match Test series which kicked off on December 14 in Chattogram. After winning the toss, Rahul opted to bat first, and opener Shubman Gill and Rahul gave India a good start.
The pair added 41 runs for the opening wicket before a poor shot selection by Shubman Gill that cost him his wicket. He was dismissed by Taijul Islam for 20. Rahul departed shortly against Khaled Ahmed as he chopped the ball back onto his stumps. Ahead of the first match, Rahul talked about England’s aggressive approach in Test cricket and said that they will have to play aggressively.
“I was watching these two matches against Pakistan. Really enjoyed watching Test cricket being played like that. Very fearless, aggressive, taking the game on. Like I said, it is not always going to be the same approach. You always turn up according to the conditions in where you are. There is a WTC final qualification that is there for us (to consider) so we will have to be aggressive as well.”
India will look to bounce back in the Test series
After losing the ODI series, India will be aiming to go all-out against Bangladesh in the two-match Test series. India suffered a lot of key injuries during the three-match ODI series, in which they lost 2-1 to a dominant Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi team might also look weaker in the Test format as many of the star Bangladeshi players won't be playing.
From India’s side, Captain Rohit Sharma will miss the Test series due to a thumb injury he sustained in the second ODI. The test series will also see pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja missing from the playing XI squad.
Poor batting from Rahul prompted several Indian cricket fans to express their anger with the batter as the social media platform was flooded with tweets criticizing KL for his poor form.
Here are some of the fan reactions to Rahul's disappointing knock:
KL Rahul does what he does best.....once again played on...
— Rohillaarpit98 (@rohillaarpit98) December 14, 2022
Really Panoti.
Bahut ho gya bhai tera,100 match lgenge kya tujhe run bnane k liye👿👿#INDvsBAN#KLRahul #dropklrahul #bcci
Please remove the kl rahul is west player in india team india los to 20 20 world cup is kl rahul mistak
— Chandu Pati (@ChanduPati3) December 14, 2022
save india from this robot KL Rahul
— keerti 👑 (@Awkat_main_rahe) December 14, 2022
KL Rahul, Dude, Please Stop your vocal chitchat, Start it with bat ...
— @im_akash414 (@AkashSG414) December 14, 2022
Kl rahul said they will play aggressive brand of cricket. Bhai aap log normal khel lo wahi badi baat hai.
— Mridul Dhamija (@ImMridulDhamija) December 14, 2022
KL Rahul is using the Inside edge of his bat more than Pujara using his Inside half of his bat.
— Sai Swaroop (@saiswaroop_45) December 14, 2022
So many Played Ons by KL Off late@klrahul #BANvsIND
kl rahul ke pass bcci ka mms hai😂😅
— Gaurav Sajwan (@GauravS2013) December 14, 2022
We don't even know how KL Rahul got white ball captaincy ...and he is a captain of india in Test cricket too ...WTF happened to team India 🤦...#Kohli #KLRahul #pujara
— Ajay (@AjayArshan) December 14, 2022
KL Rahul stops performing against a weak team or is Bangla Desh no longer a weak team?
— Vineet Sahay (@SahayVineet) December 14, 2022