ENG vs IND 2025: 'We jokingly called him Mr. Consistent, but now he's earned it' - Manjrekar lauds KL Rahul's growth
"The biggest satisfaction I’ve had — as an analyst and a former cricketer — has come from watching KL Rahul. He has always had the game," said Manjrekar.
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Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised KL Rahul for his consistency and maturity, noting that the opener has successfully addressed past shortcomings in his game. Rahul impressed with a composed century in the first innings at Lord’s during the third Test against England.
Manjrekar observed that with over 50 Tests under his belt, Rahul now looks more complete and assured at the crease. The Bengaluru-born batter has accumulated 375 runs in six innings during the ongoing series, averaging an impressive 62.50.
"The biggest satisfaction I’ve had — as an analyst and a former cricketer — has come from watching KL Rahul. He has always had the game. Yes, there were grey areas in his technique, but he worked on those and resolved them. What was missing was consistency. On one of our shows, we even jokingly gave him the title of ‘Mr. Consistent KL Rahul’ — but it’s taken him a long time to truly earn that tag,” said Manjrekar on ‘Follow The Blues’.
“He has now played over 50 Test matches for India, and what I’m seeing now is close to perfection — there are no visible weaknesses. For the first time in an overseas series, he has scored more than 200 runs. That, for me, is a massive takeaway for India," he added.
KL Rahul cannot be a one-hundred wonder: Sanjay Manjrekar
Pant run-out was the turning point: Manjrekar
The cricketer-turned-comnentator noted that a few small mistakes proved costly for the visitors. One such moment was the run-out of Rishabh Pant, a turning point in the match. He acknowledged that while it was an unfortunate dismissal from India’s perspective, it was also a moment of brilliance from Ben Stokes, who showcased his sharp fielding skills to execute the run-out.
“When I look at the turning points and the small mistakes made, I feel India lost this Test match because of those little errors. There were no major blunders — even Rishabh Pant’s run-out was just one of those minor mistakes. But this is where the brilliance of Ben Stokes comes in. He mentioned in his interview that Pant stuttered slightly, and he sensed an opportunity for a run-out,” Manjrekar said.
“And Stokes, right in the middle of a bowling spell, pulled off a fielding masterclass. That’s the mark of a champion cricketer. Pant, perhaps, was trying to give KL Rahul a chance to get back on strike and complete his century. But like I’ve said, the team didn’t make any massive errors — it was the accumulation of small ones that made the difference in the end,” he concluded.
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