With a major generational shift underway in Indian Test cricket, KL Rahul has openly questioned the urgency behind grooming the next generation of players. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee recently handed the Test captaincy to Shubman Gill, with Rishabh Pant named vice-captain — marking a clear move towards building a younger core following the retirements of stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
While KL Rahul remains part of the Test setup, the veteran batter seems skeptical about the approach being taken by the selectors. In a candid interview with Nasser Hussain on Sky Cricket, the 33-year-old opened up about the constant need to prove himself, despite consistent performances.
KL Rahul Questions Timing of Youth Movement in Indian Test Team
KL Rahul stated that he understands the demands of professional cricket, where players are expected to deliver constantly. However, he finds it disheartening when recent contributions are overlooked by those making selection decisions.
“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏-𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔,” 𝑹𝒂𝒉𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒕.
He also pointed out that the long gaps between India’s limited-overs fixtures often lead to premature discussions around rebuilding for future World Cups — something he feels is unnecessary when the current setup is performing well.
“𝑩𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2027 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈?” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅.
As Rahul concludes his IPL 2025 campaign, uncertainty looms over India’s next ODI series. For now, the senior batter remains focused but vocal about the challenges faced due to inconsistent planning and short-term memory among selectors.
Also Read:RCB gets a big shock… Tim David may be out of the playoff matches.! Know the reason
