IND vs NZ | Twitter reacts as Gill's return from injury leaves KL Rahul on the bench in Pune

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Veteran Indian batter KL Rahul was once again pushed out of the Indian Test XI in lieu of Shubman Gill who missed the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru with a stiff neck. Rahul was battling for the number five spot with newcomer Sarfaraz Khan but lost out owing to a poor run of form.

‌KL Rahul had managed a duck and 12 at his homeground M Chinnaswamy Stadium during India's eight wicket loss to Kiwis in the opening encounter of the series.  It was an extension of a series of low scores as the wicket-keeper batter has just three fifty-plus knocks to show for across his last 20 Test innings. Even though the 32-year-old seemed to have cemented his spot for the foreseeable future with a ton against South Africa on a horrid Centurion pitch last December, an injury during the summer saw him miss four home Tests against England which allowed the likes of Sarfaraz Khan to get a shot at the big stage.

The youngster grasped his opportunity for both hands, managing three half-centuries in his first three Tests before a 150 in the third innings in Bengaluru proved to be the cherry on the top. This assured him a spot in the Indian lineup for Pune over Rahul at number five while Shubman Gill returns to the XI to slot back in at his number three spot and Virat Kohli retakes his favoured number four spot, where Sarfaraz had batted in the previous game.

Rahul has played 53 Tests so far, accumulating 2,981 runs at an average of 33.87. The Karnataka batter has plied his trade as opener in 49 of those encounters before being afforded a place in the middle-order over the past couple of yearas following Yashasvi Jaiswal's emergence as a world beater. Rahul even filled in as wicket-keeper in Rishabh Pant's absence in two Tests against the Proteas but has failed to find any consistency in his career, averaging under 40 even in home conditions.

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