KL Rahul bounced off forward short-leg Peter Handscomb’s leg to nestle into the hands of wicketkeeper Alex Carey during India’s fourth innings chase at the Kotla, you couldn’t help but feel a little sad for the Bengaluru boy. At a time when everything is falling into place for the team, it’s just not happening for Rahul. Even when he is starting to look good, there’s a slice of bad luck here and there that is bringing about his downfall.In a world where yesterday’s result is the only benchmark, 10 scores of below 25 is absolutely unacceptable. Openers before him, like Mayank Agarwal or Shikhar Dhawan, haven’t survived such lean patches and the management’s decision to stick to Rahul is leading to allegations of “favouritism” by former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad and a few others.The BCCI, too, is losing patience and the decision to strip Rahul of vice-captaincy duties for the third Test clearly indicates that the 30-year-old is treading thin ice. The fact that Shubman Gill has been in red-hot form leading up to the Australia series and has been still made to wait has added to the clamour for Rahul’s head.
