'It's been a decade now...': Ex-India star calls out the team management for 'unfair' treatment of KL Rahul

KL Rahul opened the Indian innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal during the first day of the first Test against England at Headingley. Despite the 33-year-old making his Test debut back in 2014, he still hasn't been ably to fully settle into the Men in Blue's squad for the format.

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In 58 Tests that he has played so far, Rahul has scored a total of 3257 runs, maintaining a decent average of 33.57. However, former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta believes that the Indian team management is unfairly treating the wicketkeeper-batter, pointing out how he has been made to bat at various different positions.

Dasgupta believes that Rahul is being treated unfairly

"See, I just hope they give him a permanent position now. He made his debut in 2014. It's been more than a decade, but we still don't know where does he fit into the Indian Test side? Is he a middle-order batter? Is he an opener? I think it's about time to tell him, 'KL, you've got to play this series or whatever, and you're going to play as an opener. This is what you're going to do. And I think once you give him that position, that security, we will see a different KL Rahul," Dasgupta said on Star Sports.

"As of now, in every series,Virat Kohli's absence felt even before first ball is bowled in IND vs ENG Test: 'Moved on from Gavaskar, Sachin but...' it's like KL Rahul is trying to cement his position from one series to the next. You need a wicketkeeper in South Africa, call him. You need a No. 5, call him. Opener? Yes. So that's something I think is being quite unfair on him. It's been a decade now. Come on. Give him that series, maybe more than that and tell him this is how we are looking at you - as an opener - and play him," he added.

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Notably, Rahul last scored a century in red-ball cricket back in 2023 against South Africa at Centurion. Since then, the wicketkeeper-batter has featured in 10 more Tests, but has only managed to post a 50+ score on four occasions.

Rahul's average form in the longest format continued in the Headingley Test as he got dismissed by pacer Brydon Carse after playing a decent inning of 42 runs which included eight boundaries. The 33-year-old's experience may be quite important for the Men in Blue, however he needs to play multiple big knocks in the ongoing series in order to fully cement his place in the playing XI for future Test assignments.