'You can see a change with Gill doing so well' - Dinesh Karthik fires warning shot at underperforming KL Rahul

India's narrow victory against hosts Bangladesh in the second Test sealed an exciting series victory for the visitors. However, the stand-in skipper KL Rahul had another forgetful series, extending his abysmal return with the bat in red-ball cricket this year. Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels that time is running out for the stylish opener with Shubman Gill knocking on the door. 

The Indian opener has been a regular in the first team across all formats of the game, but his output with the bat in the longer format is not up to the mark according to Dinesh Karthik. Karthik feels that an Indian opener should not be averaging in the mid-30s after playing 40-odd Tests.

“I would give KL those couple of Test matches, but if things don’t go KL Rahul’s way… The one thing that does go against him is the fact that he has played over 40 Tests and his average is just mid-30s. That is not acceptable for an opener. That is one of the lowest among Indian players for sure, who have played 35 Test matches," Karthik in a conversation with Cricbuzz.

Rahul needs to get a couple of hundreds against Australia: Dinesh Karthik

The Indian team will take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February next year, with crucial WTC points at stake for the Asian outfit. Karthik reckoned that KL Rahul will be keen on improving his return with the bat, but if he fails to impress in the decisive Test series against Australia, the young Shubman Gill should replace him in the eleven. The veteran cricketer feels that Rahul needs to regain his confidence by scoring a couple of tons in the upcoming Test series, which will be India's last Test assignment of the ongoing WTC cycle.

"That is something that he needs to definitely work on. That will be on his mind. If he wants to cement his place in the Test team, he needs to get a couple of hundreds against Australia. Otherwise, you can definitely see a change, with Shubman Gill doing so well," he added.