Like it or not, KL Rahul has to adopt India's aggressive approach

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. Yes, this is the top three which India is most likely to take to Australia for the T20 World Cup. The trio batted in the mega event last year as well and the Men in Blue couldn't make it to the semis of an ICC event for the first time since 2012. A lot has changed in the shortest format for India since then and one of them has been shelving a safety first approach with the bat.

Under Rohit Sharma's leadership, the message has been clear to everyone and that has been to play attacking cricket. Even as India chopped and changed a lot in order to manage the workloads of senior players, the approach didn't change one bit. During this period, especially this year after the Indian Premier League (IPL), KL Rahul, the vice-captain of the side, was absent entirely for all the matches due to injury.

It can be understood that it will take some time for him to adopt to the team's approach. But given that he is the vice-captain of the team, it is certainly not impossible for him. His knock against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31) was so bizarre, that his wicket turned to be a blessing in disguise for India. On a surface where he scored runs at a strike-rate of 92.31, his teammates struck much better (Rohit - 161.54, Kohli - 134.09 and Surya - 261.54).

While the fact that his return was expected to be a boost for India ahead of the World Cup, it might actually end up being a problem if KL Rahul doesn't pull up his socks soon. He has completely looked out of touch since returning to international cricket and the first two games in Asia Cup raise a lot of eyebrows with World Cup to commence next month.

What is wrong with KL Rahul's batting in T20Is?

Well, there is no doubt that KL Rahul is a class batter when in full flow. But when it comes to the shortest format, at times, he is frustratingly too slow to start with. If he fails to catch up with the strike-rate and gets out, then the team is in trouble and something of that sorts happened against Hong Kong. If not for Surya's knock, India might not have crossed even the 160-run mark.

Now, KL Rahul's strike-rate issue isn't a one-off, the man has been under the radar for quite some time now. He had termed 'strike-rate in T20Is' overrated once and his comment might come back to bite him soon. Since he became the skipper of Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL, his safety first batting came to the fore. Clearly, the responsibility factor hindered his strike-rate and at times, it worked for him for his franchise too.

His strike-rate in IPL since 2020 has been 134.26 which is decent but the same was down to 129.34 in the 2020 edition when he was criticised a lot. He has been scoring runs consistently in the IPL at around strike-rates of 129.34, 138.80 and 135.38 over the last three editions.

But when it comes to playing for India, clearly, that hasn't been working out. Rahul has been striking at only 124.52 in T20Is played since 2021. The issue is even more concerning when it comes to batting in the first six overs. In T20Is played since 2021, KL Rahul has scored runs at a mediocre strike-rate of 115.38 in the powerplay which clearly doesn't go with the team's aggressive approach in the format.

Quality has been the issue with KL Rahul but intent has been. The only time he showed intent to play a big shot against Hong Kong in the powerplay was off a free-hit and he managed to smash a six. His second and final six of the evening came in the ninth over and that was the first time when his strike-rate went over 100 only to come down a few balls later.

It is baffling to see that a player like KL Rahul who can literally play big shots from the word go is lacking intent. It could be that he isn't confident enough returning from a long injury layoff. But then, such is the competition for the spots in the Indian team that he should pull himself up sooner rather than later. Perhaps, India would be keen on not messing up things close to the T20 World Cup like last year with roles being clear to every player as of now.

Will KL Rahul be really dropped and if yes, who could be the replacements?

Well, this is a tough answer. As of now, he is the best bet for India to open for the World Cup. But a few more failures or lack of intent in this Asia Cup and the management might seriously ponder over his replacement. Not that some player out of the blue will be picked for the role. Ishan Kishan has auditioned enough to open the innings in the absence of KL Rahul.

The left-hander is the second-highest run-scorer for India in T20Is this year with 430 runs in 14 innings at a strike-rate of 130.30. Another option India may consider is Rishabh Pant to open the innings as he can bat freely in the powerplay and can offer a left-right combination at the top of the order too. He has so far opened only in two innings, against England in July this year, scoring 26 and 1.

With several options available, though his place isn't under threat for now, KL Rahul has to up the ante in terms of strike-rate in T20Is and the rest of the Asia Cup will be extremely crucial for him. On thing is for sure, he has to change his batting style and adopt the aggressive approach early in the innings.