KL Rahul has chance to cement his spot in the Test side, important how he performs with gloves: Zaheer Khan

KL Rahul was fantastic with the bat for team India on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. When all the other batters failed to get going, the Bengaluru-born cricketer hit 70* runs off 105 deliveries and courtesy of the same, India posted 208/8 on Day 1 of the first Test of the two-match series. Following the same, former cricketer Zaheer Khan hailed Rahul for his positive batting approach and believes that if he manages to do well with the gloves, he can cement his spot in red-ball cricket.

Notably, Rahul missed a lot of Test matches in the last couple of years due to various injuries. However, with Rishabh Pant currently out of action, he has the opportunity to prove himself with the gloves. Zaheer mentioned that he has done well in the other two formats so far and it will be good for his career to deliver in red-ball cricket now.

“KL Rahul is out there in the middle and has scored the most runs. The positive approach was on display by Rahul on Day 1, which was also seen with other Indian batters,” Zaheer said while talking to Cricbuzz.

“He has shown his credentials with the bat, what will be important is how he performs with the gloves when India comes bowls. But he has a chance to cement his spot in the Test side. He has had to miss a few matches due to his injury record. He had a good World Cup and the more he plays in all formats, the better it will be for him at this stage of his career,” he added.

Meanwhile, Rahul will aim to convert his half-century to a hundred on Day two of the Test. Day 1 ended early due to bad light and rain as India would aim to add another 50 runs to the bag to put the home team under pressure. India have never won a Test series in South Africa and hence, this series holds a lot of importance for the Rohit Sharma-led side.