KL Rahul's World Cup spot in serious doubt after New Zealand snub, says Aakash Chopra

KL Rahul’s career has been going downhill for quite some time now. The right-handed batsman had 2018 to forget as far as his performances were concerned. Except for the 149-run knock in the inconsequential Test against England, Rahul managed to score just one fifty-plus last year which came against Afghanistan at home.

He was dropped out of the playing eleven after scoring two runs and a duck in the second Test against Australia before being recalled for the Sydney Test where he managed just 9 runs. It was his 12th single-digit score in his last 24 Test innings. His career then took a bizarre turn when he was suspended along with Hardik Pandya for making controversial remarks on a popular television talk show. But later,  BCCI’s Committee of Administrators lifted the suspension on the pair, pending the appointment and adjudication of the board’s ombudsman.

Consequently, both the players were available for selection. But while Pandya joined the national team in New Zealand for the ongoing limited-overs tour, Rahul had to join India A team for the ongoing series against England Lions. With Rahul definitely falling down the pecking order in the national team, former Test batsman Aakash Chopra feels the batsman’s World Cup hopes is in ‘serious doubt’.

Chopra feels the team management’s decision to not consider Rahul even though skipper Virat Kohli would miss the last two ODIs and three T20Is in New Zealand is a big sign of where the out-of-favour stands as far as his World Cup chances are concerned. It should be noted that Rahul was initially named in the T20I squad but was not considered again unlike Pandya.

“Since Kohli was likely to miss a major part of this NZ tour, Rahul’s exclusion from the set-up puts his spot for WC in serious doubt,” wrote Chopra on Twitter.

Since Kohli was likely to miss a major part of this NZ tour, Rahul’s exclusion from the set-up puts his spot for WC in serious doubt. @StarSportsIndia

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 31, 2019

Rahul’s performance on comeback

Rahul, meanwhile, is doing little to make the selectors rue their decision. The opening batsman managed to score just 13 in his comeback game against England Lions. He got the start in the following game but was out for 42. But, he bagged a golden duck in the final one-day. On Wednesday, he was named in the India A squad for the first four-day games against the Lions. With time running out, Rahul desperately needs to perform or else he will really find himself out of the team’s plans for the World Cup.

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