KL Rahul has often flattered to deceive, reckons VVS Laxman

India recorded a comfortable whitewash against hosts West Indies, managing to win both the games by big margins. However, the performances were far from perfect, with the top-order failing miserably more often than not. The two openers failed to put up even a single 50-run stand across the four innings, while Mayank Agarwal’s half-century in the second Test being the only impactful performance among the two of them in the series. 

“There were lots of positives for India, but question marks hang over the batting,” VVS Laxman wrote in a Times of India column.

KL Rahul was particularly poor, scoring at an average slightly better than 25 and failing to convert his starts into big scores. The 27-year-old has already played 36 Tests and has 2,000-plus runs to his name but has failed to imbibe any sort of consistency into his game. Even Cheteshwar Pujara did not record any score of even 30-plus but the 31-year-old is among the world’s top ten batsmen and it is already a matter of time before he gets in his groove.

“Cheteshwar Pujara must be disappointed at a modest start to a new season, but the greater concern is over KL Rahul. His ability is never under question, and he is no longer a newcomer to Test cricket. He has got numerous opportunities, but he has often flattered to deceive,” Laxman added.

If it were not Hanuma Vihari’s three consecutive half-centuries, India might have struggled to dominate the two matches in the way they did. Playing in only his second Test series, the 25-year-old shouldered the responsibility maturely to guide his team to victory.

“There is so much to admire about the brand of cricket India played, and no one exemplified it better than Hanuma Vihari with the bat and Jasprit Bumrah with the ball, I have followed Vihari’s career closely. I am convinced the years of first-class cricket have instilled the temperament and mindset to score runs consistently in Test cricket. Speaking from experience, I can say that batting at No. 6 is not an easy task,” Laxman added.