Will KL Rahul star in a full Test series and not flatter to deceive?

He had that signature fingers-in-ears ‘shut out the noise’ celebration, but it didn’t really ooze coolness, shutting out seemed to further highlight his vulnerability. He has tried to sledge before – “Whole country playing against 11 guys” during a Test in South Africa sounded like a boy’s lament.

But all that suddenly changed this IPL season where cool-fication of Rahul happened. There he was not only bantering but leaving his team mentor Kevin Pietersen startled and speechless with a series of quips, an act that not even Aussies managed in the past. He was furiously celebrating in front of Kohli. He has gained steeliness this year that the tattoos and the attempt of shutting out noise couldn’t achieve. He has now released the fingers, let in the world and is staring right back at them – and that is indeed pretty cool.

If he can extend that cool IPL halo to a real Test aura in England with his batting, it would be a journey celebrated. He is too good a batsman to be couched in sympathetic terms of ‘oh he never got a settled spot’ and such. Not because it isn’t true – those handicaps should be kept in mind – but real batting stars manage to shine despite the system.

It’s an off-the-cuff remark by England’s former batting coach Mark Ramprakash during India’s tour to that country that comes to mind. Rahul wasn’t getting the scores until he stirred in the final Test at the Oval with a hundred. It was perhaps at Lord’s after the second Test – or after the next game, certainly before that Oval knock – that one ran into Ramprakash who suddenly said aloud, “Does KL know how good he is?”. It perhaps nailed Rahul’s career, as it stood then, and can be said to sum up for his situation even now. Post that England tour, he failed in Australia, and was dropped and left feeling “most useless and negative” he had “ever felt in life” (Rahul’s words).

Rahul’s batting issues

There were batting issues that he corrected in that phase to make a comeback later. He has spoken to this newspaper before about how his hands were too far away from the body, and the compactness was lost, and how resultantly, he was troubled by the incoming deliveries. For a while in that phase, he was also uncertain of this off stump; there have been a few inside-edges bowled or even a shouldered-arms dismissal or two. He sealed all those issues and should have taken the next step on his return, but it hasn’t quite turned that way, as yet.

In Australia, he started so brilliantly, so assured that it felt like it was going to be the series where he will boss around the full series. But he didn’t. It might not seem in popular imagination, but he is a batsman who constantly tinkers around with his game. Sometimes, to his own detriment.

Like he did in the latter part of the Australia series, after he was faced with the Scott Boland threat. Especially in the all-important final innings of the series with the trophy on line. India had raced to 41 for 1 in just over 7 overs in the second innings, when Rahul suddenly hurried down the track to try to negate Boland’s hard-lengths perhaps. But he could only inside edge it on to his stumps. Neither the walking down or the looseness in the drive was characteristic of his natural game. Perhaps he thought something had to be done, else Boland would harass them with his accuracy, and he tinkered with his staple technique and perished. In the second Test, the pink-ball one at Adelaide, he had rode his luck to reach 37 in the first innings, when he suddenly stabbed a back of length delivery from Mitchell Starc to be caught at gully. That same game, in the second innings, he went for a pull shot off just his 10th ball – kind of expansiveness he doesn’t normally show- and was caught. Or the uppish flick early in the first innings off a half volley, only to be caught.

There are such soft dismissals that crop up when he tends to veer a bit away from his game: a change approach like the walk down the track or the attempted aggressive shots even before settling down. Perhaps it’s down to the clarity of the mind during execution or as Ramprakash put it, ‘does he know how good he is?’.

There isn’t much else to sigh about him: a complete team-man who bats where they want him, keep if needed, and increasingly, a very responsible senior member. As seen in the Australia tour in the way he often guided Yashasvi Jaiswal, often shouting from the other end ‘take deep breath now, calm down’. He doesn’t stay in his own bubble but visibly extends himself to take care of the partners.

At times, sweetly, even the opponents. There is this lovely story he told recently on a show ‘men of platinum’ about an episode with Cameron Green on the Australian’s debut Test. Rahul had taken a few steps to sledge but saw that Green looked visibly nervous. When he enquired and Green admitted that he was very nervous, Rahul says he couldn’t get himself to do what he had intended. “That was a moment of truth and I remembered on my debut, how nervous I was and the Australian team didn’t make it easy and were all in my ears. I wanted to be that person but thought maybe not. Just wished him ‘good luck, you will be all right’.”

It’s easy to like and admire such a person, but a Test series filled with runs won’t hurt. India needs the two avatars KL and Rahul to merge seamlessly, and produce some steely-coolness, and to finally put that Ramprakash query to rest for good.