Cricket

KL Rahul's poor performance in the first Test against New Zealand has put his place in the Indian team under scrutiny. The 32-year-old scored 0 and 12 in the two innings, and his struggles in the middle order contributed to India's collapse in both essays and an eventual 8-wicket loss.Ahead of the second Test in Pune, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate stressed that Rahul enjoys a long rope from the head coach Gautam Gambhir. However, ten Doeschate also acknowledged that there is a fight for a spot between Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, who impressed in the first Test."Yeah, there's no point in sugarcoating it, there's a fight for a spot," said ten Doeschate. "Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last Test. I went to KL after the last Test (and) said how many balls do you play at (and) miss at? He didn't play at (and) miss at one ball and that's what tends to happen when you're not getting runs.""There's certainly no concerns about KL, he's batting nicely, he's in a good mental space. But we are certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what's going to be best for the team.""Gauti [Gautam Gambhir] is keen to give him a long rope like Sanju [Sanju Samson]," he added.Rahul's dismissal in the second innings in Bengaluru came at a point when India had gained momentum, courtesy of a stand between Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant. Losing Rahul at that stage put the Indian cricket team on the back foot, which led to a batting collapse.Now, as India look to make their way back into the three-match series, starting with the second Test on October 24 (Thursday), KL Rahul will be keen to make amends.

KL Rahul's struggles have continued unabated, raising concerns about his place in India's Test squad. The veteran batter has failed to make a significant impact in recent outings, prompting a warning from the team management.In the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, Rahul managed only 16 off 52 deliveries in the first innings and 22 not out off 19 in the second. His performance was particularly disappointing given the presence of Sarfaraz Khan, a proven performer in subcontinent conditions, waiting in the wings.Rahul's struggles extend beyond the Chennai Test. In his sole Duleep Trophy outing before that, he scored 37 off 111 and 57 off 121 deliveries, raising eyebrows with his labored approach.A BCCI official has reportedly stated that Rahul has been in "kind of a shell," with his performance in both the Duleep Trophy and the Chennai Test being a cause for concern.Former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi believes that Rahul can redeem himself by spending more time at the crease. "His numbers in Tests abroad speak for themselves," Joshi said. "He just needs to spend more time at the crease which will lead to runs, whoever the opposition is, because he has every shot in his armoury."Joshi emphasized the importance of Rahul consuming more deliveries to develop the necessary red-ball intent. "He needs to consume more number of balls just to feel the red-ball intent because red-ball cricket is played session-wise," Joshi explained.With the second Test against Bangladesh approaching, Rahul's place in the XI is under threat. If he fails to improve his performance, he could face the prospect of being dropped from the squad.