Right hander wicket keeper batter KL Rahul bowed and touched the pitch after India’s loss to New Zealand in the first Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has people on the social media asking questions that ‘was this his last Test?’
A social media clip of him has shown Rahul bowing and touching the pitch after the game was over.
The Stadium is Rahul’s home ground during his time with Royal Challengers Bengaluru from 2013 to 2016 in Indian Premier League. He also represented Karnataka in domestic cricket.
Rahul, though, did not perform well in the Test against New Zealand. He scored just 0 and 12 across the two innings.
One user on X wrote, “Was this his last test match by any chance?"
"He knows that it is his last test match," read another comment.
"Saying goodbye I hope," wrote another X user.
His retirement news has further been given spark by former Indian wicket keeper Parthiv Patel, as he felt Sarfaraz’s maiden Test hundred against Rahul’s zero can turn the pages for the latter’s position in the squad.
Sarfaraz hit a smashing 150 in the first Test, he replaced regular number 3 Shubman Gill in the playing eleven squad and was placed at 4th. While, Rahul was placed at 6th.
Rahul last scored hundred way back in 2016, Patel further added that he can find a space in lower-middle order.
“The question will be whether Sarfaraz Khan will get to play or will they go with KL Rahul. I will still play KL Rahul, the way the team has shown faith in him. I am thinking like that based on how the team’s thinking has been,” Patel said.
Patel mentioned that India held Rahul back at number 6 despite Gill’s absence indicating a change in role.
“If you wanted, you could have made Rahul bat at No. 3 in this Test match but you said that you didn’t want to change his position. Nothing to take from Sarfaraz’s knock, he made 150 runs for sure, but it’s the same situation as Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep. There will definitely be pressure on KL Rahul but I would still play him,” Patel concluded.
It was New Zealand's third Test victory in India after their wins in 1969 at Nagpur and at Mumbai in 1988.
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