'He has missed a lot of cricket' - Scott Styris concerned about KL Rahul's form after returning to Indian side

The Indian team has been missing the services of KL Rahul for quite some time now. The stylish batter has been out of the game due to prolonged injury and health concerns. He sustained an injury after the IPL 2022, where he captained the Lucknow Super Giants, and has been out of the squad ever since. Even after recovering, he contracted the Covid-19 virus, which kept him out for even longer.

The Indian team has transformed a lot recently. An aggressive batting approach has been adopted by the Rohit Sharma-led side, and it seems to be working very well for them. Also, there has been a very tough competition among the players themselves, who look to maintain their place in the squad as the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup approaches.

Speaking exclusively on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show ‘SPORTS OVER THE TOP’, Scott Styris, the former New Zealand cricketer, talked about how it might be difficult for KL Rahul to fit in as he said: “It’s a different mindset for players because they don’t want to be out and they don’t want to be giving other players opportunities. I know India has a very good culture within its group, so it doesn’t mind allowing other players opportunities all the time. I know as a player myself, you never wanted to give somebody else a chance to take your spot.”

Is KL Rahul going to be in good form when he comes back?: Scott Styris

He also talked about Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant, and the way the two are batting at the moment. In the past few games, both dashers have taken the aggresive approach and aimed for the fence from the moment they enter the field. Styris feels that the duo’s performances have posted a question in front of the selectors and made them think if India needs KL Rahul in the mix.

“So with the fact that he’s out injured and he’s away from the team at the moment, it just means that other players are able to do what Suryakumar is doing, what Rishabh Pant is doing, getting in there, taking the chance scoring runs and really posing the selectors some questions saying, do we actually need KL Rahul? Is he going to be in good form when he comes back? He has missed a lot of cricket, a lot of question marks now present themselves just because he’s been able to give other players that opportunity,” he added.