Another batsman from the Indian School of pleasant stroke-making, KL Rahul is a sight to behold when on the song. His sumptuous shot-making has often made people expect more from the Karnataka batsman. And as a result, his slump in form in 2018 was nearly unimaginative for a batsman who was technically correct with nearly all aspects of his game. The start of his international career was not characterized by flamboyance and elegance. However, it was later when he began to find his feet, especially in the white-ball game, that KL Rahul began to blossom with centuries in nearly all formats.
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Test Debut in Australia
Rahul made his India debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in 2014-15. It wasn't a memorable outing for him as perished in single digits in both innings of the Test match. However, in his second Test in Sydney, Rahul scored his maiden Test century after being asked to open the batting. It was an innings of great composure, skills, and patience that told the world a thing or two about the future Indian sensation. He shined when he opened the innings for the first time and now he opens in all three formats.
A Dream run in 2016
KL Rahul witnessed a stellar run of form in 2016 where he scored centuries in all three formats of the game. He became the first Indian player to score a century on ODI debut with an unbeaten 100* against Zimbabwe. Carrying on his rich vein of form, the right-hander even smashed a century in a T20I against West Indies to become only the third Indian player to register centuries across all formats. In December 2016, Rahul registered his highest individual score of 199 in Test cricket against England in Chennai.
Despite the recent 2-0 win over Bangladesh in the red ball format, stand-in captain and Indian mainstay batter KL Rahul had a disappointing season for Team India. In the first test match of the series in Chattogram, the Karnataka boy was able to reach the double-digit mark in both innings. However, he only managed to score 10 and 2 runs respectively in both innings of the second match in Dhaka.
As a result of his yet another single-digit innings in the second Test match, Rahul registered an unwanted record in his name. Now that KL Rahul has more than 10 single-digit scores, that makes him the only Indian batsman who has more than 10 single-digit scores in 2022. And as a result, once again KL Rahul has become the talk of the town and severe criticism is coming his way.
Let's have a look at KL Rahul's performance in 2022 and his centuries across all formats.
KL Rahul’s form in 2022: Round-up
The year 2022 has been a sour year for KL Rahul. The numbers he produced in international cricket this year do not reflect his talent. Across all formats, KL only played 30 international cricket matches, scoring 822 runs across 33 innings with an average of around 25.68. KL Rahul undoubtedly had one of the worst years in terms of statistics and his overall average of 37.66 across all formats declined to 25.68 in 2022.
| ODI’s | ||||||
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| 10 | 9 | 251 | 27.9 | 80.2 | 0 | 2 |
In the white ball format of the game, KL managed to score 251 runs in 10 outings with 2 critical fifties. During most of the ODI matches, KL was absent due to injury, and also to manage his workload, he was rested in some games. However, out of 10 matches, Rahul played 9 on foreign soil. In the ODI format, KL bats low in the order, which is also one reason for his low stats.
| T20I’s | ||||||
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| 16 | 16 | 434 | 28.9 | 126.5 | 0 | 6 |
Let's now have a look at his performance in T20 internationals. With 434 runs scored and 6 fifties smashed, Rahul appeared in 16 international T20 competitions. When it comes to international T20 cricket, KL maintained a strike rate of 126.5.
| Test Matches | ||||||
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| 4 | 8 | 137 | 17.1 | 36.1 | 0 | 1 |
KL Rahul appeared in 4 Test matches this year. In addition, he captained the team India in the Test series against Bangladesh where the Indians whitewashed the Bengal Tigers 2-0. Rahul's Test cricket form, however, was less than satisfactory. Rahul scored 137 in 8 innings in the longest format of the game with a poor average of 17.1 and was able to score only a half-century.
| IPL | ||||||
| Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| 15 | 15 | 616 | 51.33 | 135.38 | 2 | 4 |
In spite of this, his performance this year in the IPL was spectacular, and he was among the top run scorers. The leader of the Lucknow-based franchise scored 616 runs in 15 matches with an outstanding average of 51, while scoring 2 centuries and 4 fifties for his team.
Here's a look at the List of Centuries scored by KL Rahul in each format:
List of KL Rahul Centuries in Test Cricket:
KL Rahul's Test career has been a ride full of twists and turns. With a ton in his second Test itself, Rahul was well on course to carve out an exciting future in his Test career. However, a lean patch in 2018 saw him lose his Test spot with the Indian team.
He made a comeback to earn his place back in the Test squad and even registered his sixth Test century in the 2nd Test at Lord's against England. He then scored another against South Africa at the end of the year to become only the third Indian to score a century at Centurian alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
However, in 2022 Rahul’s form in test cricket was a bit of a concern. KL’s last test century came in the year 2021 against South Africa in Centurian. This year Rahul faced a drought and could not score a single century in the test format.
| S.NO | Date | Score | Opposition | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jan 6, 2015 | 110 | Australia | Sydney | Draw |
| 2. | Aug 20, 2015 | 108 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (PSS) | Won |
| 3. | Jul 30, 2016 | 158 | West Indies | Jamaica | Draw |
| 4. | Dec 16, 2016 | 199 | England | Chennai | Won |
| 5. | Sep 7, 2018 | 149 | England | Oval | Lost |
| 6. | Aug 12, 2021 | 127* | England | Lord's | Won |
| 7. | Dec 26, 2021 | 123 | South Africa | Centurian | Won |
List of KL Rahul Centuries in ODI Cricket:
The 30-year-old has had a mixed-bag ODI career for India so far. With five ODI centuries in his ODI career, Rahul ranks among one of the best openers among contemporary players. He scored his maiden ODI hundred on his debut against Zimbabwe in 2016. Rahul even opened the innings alongside Rohit Sharma in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Shikar Dhawan has been in great touch for India in 50 over games which have shadowed Rahul's performance. The star batsman from Karnataka captained India in the 2022 series against Zimbabwe which India won 3-0. He was not able to contribute a lot with the bat on the tour but his captaincy was praised.
| S.NO | Date | Score | Opposition | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jun 11, 2016 | 100* | Zimbabwe | Harare | Won |
| 2. | Jul 6, 2019 | 111 | Sri Lanka | Leeds | Won |
| 3. | Deb 18, 2019 | 102 | West Indies | Vizag | Won |
| 4. | Feb 11, 2020 | 112 | New Zealand | Mount Maunganui | Lost |
| 5. | Mar 26, 2021 | 108 | England | Pune | Lost |
List of KL Rahul Centuries in T20Is:
KL Rahul debuted for India in the T20s against Zimbabwe in 2016. Rahul went on quickly to score his maiden T20I century against West Indies at Lauderhill in Florida in the same year. However, his rollicking efforts didn't prove enough for India as they lost by 1 run. His more memorable T20I century came against England in Manchester in 2018 where he rampaged his way to the three-figure mark.
| S.NO | Date | Score | Opposition | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Aug 27, 2016 | 110* | West Indies | Lauderhill | Lost |
| 2. | Jul 3, 2018 | 101* | England | Manchester | Won |
List of KL Rahul Centuries in IPL
The current captain of the newly added franchise Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, KL Rahul scored his maiden IPL century against Mumbai Indians in 2019. Albeit in a losing cause, it was raining boundaries at Wankhede as Rahul crossed the three-figure mark for the first time in his IPL career. In IPL 2020, while leading the Punjab franchise, Rahul played a match-winning innings to hurt RCB with an unbeaten 132* run knock in Dubai. Rahul haunted Mumbai Indians in the 2022 IPL when he scored two centuries in two games against men in blue and gold. Mumbai Indians have been on the wrong side of an onslaught from KL Rahul on three occasions. Rahul was a major factor in helping Lucknow reach the IPL qualifiers in their debut season.
| S.NO | Date | Score | Opposition | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Apr 10, 2019 | 100* | MI | Mumbai | Lost |
| 2. | Sep 26, 2020 | 132* | RCB | Dubai | Won |
| 3. | April 16, 2022 | 103* | MI | Mumbai | Won |
| 4. | April 24, 2022 | 103* | MI | Mumbai | Won |
The Next leader of Indian Cricket
It has been an incredible journey for KL Rahul for Team India and for IPL franchises over the years. But the year 2022 was like a roller coaster ride for KL, with many ups and downs. KL was unable to play a lot of games due to injury and various other factors, otherwise, the numbers would have been different.
However, this year Rahul took his IPL franchise to the IPL qualifier in their maiden season. In the test format, India defeated Bangladesh at their home under KL Rahul's captaincy, keeping India's hope alive for the WTC finals. Over the years, he has developed as a captain, and the elegance of his stroke play is remarkable. In the years to come, Rahul will play all three formats for India in all three formats of the game, and he is the leading candidate for the Indian cricket team's captaincy.
All stats have been updated on:
