KL Rahul In Tests: Analyzing His Performance Over The Years

KL Rahul's Test career has been marred by inconsistency (x.com)

KL Rahul is on the precipice of complete 10 years in international cricket. The dashing wicketkeeper-batter made his international debut for Team India back in December 2014 with a high-octane Test match against Australia at the iconic MCG.

While Rahul failed to cope with the intimidating Australian attack that featured the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris and Nathan Lyon on debut; he overcame his opponents the following Test by spending nearly six hours at the crease to carve an astonishing 110 in Sydney.

Nearly 10 years later, and KL Rahul has earned 50 Test caps, having gained access to multiple tours of hostile nations like Australia, South Africa and England in the process. Despite enjoying a veteran tag at the age of 32, some of Rahul’s Test batting statistics might indicate that his career has been marred by strings of inconsistencies.

Celebrating the decade-long career of KL Rahul, here at OneCricket, we analyze his Test batting performance over the years.

KL Rahul Test performance in each calendar year

KL Rahul has accumulated nearly 3,000 Test runs with eight centuries and 14 fifties. The elegant right-handed batter punched out some of those hundreds on testing Australian, English and South African conditions.

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KL Rahul Stats

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Despite holding a seemingly prolific red-ball record, his batting average amounts to just 34.08 after playing 50 Test matches. Moreover, Rahul’s occasional match-defining knocks have often been sandwiched by a sequence of listless scores.

Summing up KL Rahul’s Test career, here is a look at his performance in each calendar year since his debut.

As per the aforementioned stats, KL Rahul has scored his runs at an average of 50 or above in a calendar year just once in his career. He clocked over 40 thrice and above 30 on just five different occasions.

Rahul’s overall Test average of 34.08 inspires even lesser faith from the outlook, especially after comparing it with the career averages of his batting companions Virat Kohli (49.15) and Rohit Sharma (45.46). Even Ajinkya Rahane averages 38.46 in Tests despite spending nearly a third of his 85-match career outside accustomed home conditions.

KL Rahul exhibits 'this' special skill which very few players have

Regardless of all stats and figures, KL Rahul holds an extremely rare skillset, one which is inscribed with surreal grit, determination and technique that has rescued India’s sinking ship a number of times on all kinds of playing surfaces.

KL Rahul’s match-winning ton from December 2021 at SuperSport Park and a face-saving one at the same venue a couple of years later remain textbook examples of overcoming some of Test cricket’s greatest adversities with the blade. 

Even the 149 he smacked against England in September 2018 at the Oval remains a momentous piece of Test cricket’s modern-day batting folklore, as it helped Team India entertain thoughts of pulling off a world record 464-run heist at one stage after crashing to 2-3 in less than three overs.

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KL Rahul Career

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