KL Rahul (AP Photo)
There have been copious amounts of chatter on social media and many column inches devoted in newspapers discussing how the ODIs in New Zealand could act as a dress rehearsal for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
5, and twice he has struggled to make an impact. The role made sense in India and in the Champions Trophy in UAE and the 2024 T20 World Cup, where wickets were slower, as he could hit spinners and break up a bunch of righthanders. Rahul has scored 1,646 runs in ODIs at No. 5 at an average of 68.58 with a strike rate exceeding 103. Axar averages 30.41 in the position. Overseas, Axar’s average falls to under 20.
These weren’t conditions where batters with brute force and adventures with match-ups and left-right combinations were needed. The ball seamed, there was variable bounce and prodigious movement throughout the innings. These were conditions where batters had to silence their ego and rely on an organised technique to survive and take the team home. Axar Patel , by contrast, never looked comfortable. Twice in this series he has been promoted to No. It looks far less convincing on pitches offering assistance to fast bowlers.
For far too long in his 12-year international career, KL Rahul has been seen as Indian cricket’s utility man. 6, they need batting depth till No. 8. 6 and Rahul at No. 5 is the World Cup blueprint, why wait until 2027 to implement it?
In many ways, he has been used as India’s “spare tyre”. Many feel the conditions in New Zealand mirror those that India may encounter in southern Africa this time next year. Judging by the bounce and movement that one saw in Auckland and Wellington in the first two ODIs, the argument may not be too far away from the truth. The Indian team management, though, may have stumbled upon an uncomfortable truth. Someone who can fill gaps rather than command a role. He has opened, batted in the middle order, kept wickets, played as a finisher and even served as a stop-gap solution whenever injuries or team combinations demanded adjustment. Someone who is always available when needed but rarely afforded the security other batters enjoy. One understands why the team management likes the idea of Axar as a floater. It happened in the Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma era too. India value a left-right combination to use the unequal dimensions of certain grounds. And, with Hardik Pandya unavailable to bat at No. But in trying to compensate for Hardik’s absence, are India compromising another position? If Hardik at No. The World Cup will be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, countries where early starts, fresh pitches and quality seam bowling will place the middle-order under relentless scrutiny. Their technique will trump theories.