From Troughs to the Peak: KL Rahul's Journey to Success

He achieved his fifty off 124 balls with four boundaries, showcasing a slow yet steady performance. His knock was a brilliant display of potential, talent, resilience, and determination. It epitomized the peak of Rahul's skills on the field.

When Rahul is good, cricket seems like a simple game. The shot-making seems effortless, the timing is spot on, he seems in control and nothing ruffles his feathers. It all just seems to fit.

But the switch from good to bad can happen quickly and without any warning.

Just a game back — against Australia A — he was bowled through his legs by the gentle off-spin of Corey Rocchiccioli. He had somehow decided that the ball was going to turn sharply and shouldered arms to the delivery. But the ball didn’t turn much and went off the pads onto the stumps.

He had been batting very well — applying himself for his 10 off 43 balls in tough conditions at Melbourne but then almost inexplicably, he blinked. And it wasn’t a one-off either. This happens time and again. This is typical Rahul.

Then, with Rohit Sharma missing and Shubman Gill injured, he was asked to step up as opener. It was surprising to many. Why not Dhruv Jurel? Why not Sarfaraz Khan? Why not Sai Sudharsan? Why not anyone but Rahul?

In the nets leading up to the Test, he got injured (elbow) and when he came back, he was playing and missing far too often. He’s a nice guy and the sheepish smile would often show how he felt about things. But he wasn’t saying much. There was a job to do — and Indian cricket would once again turn to its most versatile, if inconsistent character.

A majority of his innings in Tests have come as opener. But he has also batted at 3, 4 and 6 (which is now where the India want him to bat most at). He has also played a Test as a designated keeper.

Just before the team left the Indian shores, head coach Gautam Gambhir praised Rahul’s versatility. “That is the quality of the man. That he can actually bat at the top of the order. He can bat at No.3. And he can actually bat at No.6 as well. So, you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kind of jobs as well,” he explained.

Gambhir had further added: “He’s kept wicket in One-Day format as well. So, imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at No.6 as well? I feel that if need be, he can do the job for us. Especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test.”

On Day 1 at Perth, with the ball doing all sorts of things, he played an innings of rare quality. The technique was tight, the demeanour unperturbed and while everyone else seemed out of sorts, he was in control.

In a sense, given that he batted when the conditions were most challenging, his was the best knock played by an Indian batter.

Australia collapsed in their first innings, and even though conditions eased up significantly, India’s openers still had a job to do.

And Rahul was once again up to the challenge. He seemed to carry on from where he left off in the first innings. The same unhurried approach was adopted and it seemed to rub off on Yashasvi Jaiswal as well.

It was the kind of role that many previous Indian teams have wanted to see Rahul grow into. They have invested in his leadership skills but he never quite managed to do justice to those expectations.

Now, hopefully, the 32-year-old has found the key to unlocking his true potential on a consistent basis. The talent has never been in doubt but it takes more than that to succeed in international cricket. And few people will know that better than Rahul.