'What a fantastic comeback he has made' - VVS Laxman lauds KL Rahul, wants him to build on in South Africa

KL Rahul is one of the best limited-overs batters for India in recent times. He has scored runs at an exceptional rate and has played a key role in India’s domination in white-ball cricket. However, the same can’t be said regarding his performance in the longest format of the game.

The Test series against England was the turning point of Rahul’s career. Former Indian batter VVS Laxman has appreciated how Rahul played in England and wants him to continue against South Africa. Laxman also mentioned that Rahul’s comeback story in Test cricket is commendable.

During a pre-series review on Star Sports, Laxman said, “What a fantastic comeback he has made into this Indian Test team. He got an opportunity because Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill were injured but he seized the opportunity.”

Laxman also mentioned that Rahul would have to apply the same formula that he used in England as it helped him to score plenty of runs there.

Regarding his stroke-playing abilities, Laxman said, “We know that he is an aggressive player, he is a stroke player but he also knows that if you want to succeed in South Africa, you should know where your off-stump is. We saw in the series against England, he was leaving a lot of deliveries.”

KL Rahul exploited English bowlers along with Rohit Sharma

During India’s tour of England, Rahul made 315 runs at an average of 39.37 and was the second-highest run-getter for India. He was just behind Rohit Sharma’s 368 runs. Rohit has been ruled out of the series against South Africa, and hence, Rahul will have a lot of weight on his shoulder.

On the last tour to South Africa, Rahul was completely out of touch. He made only 30 runs in four innings in that series. He will have ample time to fix his record against Proteas in the three-match series, which will start from 26th December.

South Africa is one of the four Test-playing nations against whom Rahul has not scored a century. He would be hoping to get a century against them to cement his position in the Indian lineup.