Rahul's chance to master two formats at the same time

There are so many twists of fate in this story that there is no room left for what-ifs. It is too hectic to even attempt a re-telling but at this juncture we must filter out the KL Rahul bits.

It was the summer of 2021 in England. An injury to Shubman Gill had brought Rahul back into the Test squad, a good two years after he last played one. He was strictly a back-up batter, probably selected only because he was versatile enough to provide cover for more than one slot. On the eve of the first Test, though, a delivery from Mohammed Siraj injured Rahul's good friend and the incumbent opener, Mayank Agarwal.

It brought together Rahul and Rohit Sharma, two batters still looking to find their bearings in Test cricket, in conditions that were supposed to be their kryptonite, against the new ball, the toughest time to play in England. In testing conditions through the series, the two put on an exhibition of leaving the ball. India's openers aggregated 784 runs between them in that series, among the top 10 for a travelling side to England.

Later that year, Rahul came back from an injury to complete the set of centuries in Australia, England and South Africa, only the second opener from Asia to do so since South Africa's readmission. In the next year, he went on to captain India.

And yet, two Tests after his captaincy stint, and six after his superlative century in South Africa, Rahul found himself out of the side. At that time, it seemed a horses-for-courses thing in a team that had room only for five batters given their consistent focus on taking 20 wickets by playing an extra bowler. By the time the course changed, though, Rahul had injured himself during the IPL and was in a race against time to make it to the World Cup. In his absence, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a century on debut, Gill moved down to No. 3, and where was the room for Rahul?

So here we are, back to the site of Rahul's century in Centurion, but with the most probable way for him to get into the XI being taking on wicketkeeping duties despite having started in only one first-class match as a designated wicketkeeper before. This could also mean batting in the middle order for only the second time in his 47-Test career. Not only does it not upset the top three, it also allows him some break after keeping wicket for a whole Test innings.

There are two ways to look at this arrangement, both of them valid. First is to say what a sacrifice Rahul is making for the team in Rishabh Pant's absence. That he is always ready and willing to do what the team needs him to do. There can be sympathy for a batter of such high skill and ability to have to double up in order to play for India.

None of that is misplaced sentiment but Rahul also averages 33.44 after 47 Tests. It is not like Rahul hasn't been given chances: since his debut, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are the only batters to have played more Test matches for India. We must make allowance for the increasingly difficult conditions Test cricket is played in, especially wherever India travel. The average of openers in the Tests that Rahul has played is 31.24. So while a century every seven Tests might not satisfy everyone, he has only been slightly better than the average opener in the conditions he has played in.

This is where you wonder if Rahul has spread himself too wide. Rahane and Pujara were Test specialists. Kohli is the only India batter of this era who has managed to master both Tests and ODIs for more than a decade, and also have a long T20 career. It won't be inaccurate to say that it hasn't even been three years since Rohit finally figured Test cricket out.

It has been argued previously that Rahul's shift to a more conservative brand of T20 cricket might have resulted in better performances in Test cricket upon the comeback in 2021.

Rahul is only 31 so there is a while to go before a final assessment can be made on his career, but as of now it wouldn't be unfair to label him too good to limit himself to one or two formats but not quite in that Kohli category to have mastered two of them for so long. Starting with the newest chapter in Centurion, Rahul, already one of the best in the world in the ODI middle order, will want to prove he is good enough to master two of them at the same time.