'Isko honeymoon pe bhej do' - Fans troll KL Rahul as Venkatesh Prasad lambasts him for his string of low scores

KL Rahul (Source: Twitter)

Star Indian opener KL Rahul has been under fire for his consistent low returns across formats in international cricket. The 30-year-old once again failed to score big during the first innings of India vs Australia first Test as he managed to score just 20 off 71 balls before getting caught and bowled by the debutant Todd Murphy. Reacting to Rahul’s failure, former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad called out the batter for his below-par returns.

Prasad further said that he’s been given way too many chances despite having ordinary numbers to his name. The former seamer took to Twitter and wrote, “I have a lot of regard for KL Rahul’s talent and ability, but sadly his performances have been well below par. A test average of 34 after 46 tests and more than 8 years in international cricket is ordinary. Can’t think of many who have been given so many chances.”

“Especially, When there are so many waiting in the wings & in top form. Shubhman Gill is in sublime form, Sarfaraz has been scoring tons in FC cricket and many who deserve a chance ahead of Rahul. Some are just lucky to be given chances endlessly till they succeed while some aren’t allowed to,” he added.

When there are so many waiting in the wings & in top form. Shubhman Gill is in sublime form,Sarfaraz has been scoring tons in FC cricket and many who deserve a chance ahead of Rahul. Some are just lucky to be given chances endlessly till they succeed while some aren’t allowed to.

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) February 11, 2023

Rahul had a forgettable year with the bat in Tests in 2022 having scored just 137 runs in eight innings at an average of 17.12. The Karnataka batter has failed to score a half-century in the last eight innings in the format with his highest score being 23.

In 46 Tests, he has 2624 runs at an average of 34.07 with seven hundreds and 13 fifties to his name.

In ODIs as well, he had a forgettable time with the bat in 2022 where he scored 251 runs in nine innings at an average of 27.88 and a strike rate of 80.19. In T20Is, he scored 434 runs in 16 innings at an average of 28.93 and a strike rate of 126.53. As Rahul has seen a dip in his form, other openers such as Shubman Gill have been making strong statements through their performances across formats.

Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions on Venkatesh Prasad’s statement on KL Rahul. Here are some of the Tweets:

BCCI should have arranged a honeymoon trip for KL Rahul.

— Nadim. (@nadimspeaks) February 11, 2023

Don't forget he was good in England when we last played, in SA he was injured. So we should wait for this series or couple of more matches.

— Nilesh Pandit (@nileshp1981) February 11, 2023

And appointed as a vice captain as well. What's his achievement in test cricket to be a vc. Jadeja should be vice captain, his batting average is 37.5 and picked up 247 wickets as well.

— Dalmia (@thesonofsports) February 11, 2023

Yes. He needs to play a county season to get his game back. Look what a county stint has done to Pujara.

Rahul is a champion player, no doubt. But needs to understand that his bat is not working for him for a long time now.

Gill, Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan are waiting

— JR (@Marathon_9) February 11, 2023

Players from Karnataka will get more chances thanks to Rahul Dravid.

— Nick (@Nickkulk) February 11, 2023

The team management and BCCI should come out in the open with the reasons/compulsion for going with Rahul even after so many average failures

They took a long time to move out Rahane as well

Not good for Indian cricket and upcoming young talent to keep them waiting for so long

— JR (@Marathon_9) February 11, 2023

Kl rahul should not be starting games for India at ODI and test level when we have SKY and Shubman..

— FergiesRightRef (@FergiesRightRef) February 11, 2023

Well done. Finally an ex-India player speaks up.

— Biren Daftary (@biren_daftary) February 11, 2023

That’s the general tendency of BCCI. Giving chances to perceived big names though they become consistent non-performers and give them enough time for one good performance and that 1 good performance gives their career a further lifeline of another 2-3 years.

— Dhaval Trivedi (@thewall_3vedi) February 11, 2023

I am guessing that’s one of the reasons why you lost out on being the chief selector. I hope you get that position in the future. It’s totally unfair on Ranji top performers the way Rahul’s selection is being handled

— Prem Mohanty 🏏⚽️ (@philipbkk) February 11, 2023