India's star batter KL Rahul has been struggling with some serious injury woes for quite a while now followed by Covid jolt. Where KL Rahul's absence created a void in India's batting line-up, it also opened the gate for other young guns to make their case in India's fold.
The rise of Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda in India's T20I squad has posed a serious question before the selectors whether 'Team India' actually need KL Rahul. In the same line, former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris also believes Rahul's absence has paved the path for players like Suryakumar, Pant.
The 30-year-old was named in India's T20I squad for the ongoing series against West Indies but later was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19 days ahead of the series.
"It's a different mindset for players because they don't want to be out and they don't want to be giving other players opportunities. I know India has a very good culture within its group, so it doesn't mind allowing other players opportunities all the time. I know as a player myself, you never wanted to give somebody else a chance to take your spot," said Scott Styris on SPORTS18's show SPORTS OVER THE TOP.
"So with the fact that KL Rahul is out injured and he's away from the team at the moment, it just means that other players are able to do what Suryakumar is doing, what Rishabh Pant is doing, getting in there, taking the chance scoring runs and really posing the selectors some questions saying, do we actually need KL Rahul? Is he going to be in good form when he comes back? He has missed a lot of cricket, a lot of question marks now present themselves just because he's been able to give other players that opportunity," he further added.
Ahead of testing Covid-19 positive, Rahul had suffered an injury before the T20I series against South Africa, and he did not feature in the five-match series.
Later, Rahul also issued a lengthy statement, saying testing positive for COVID-19 has pushed his return to the international arena "back by a couple of weeks", but he aims to recover as quickly as possible and be available for selection.
Rahul took to Twitter and said, "Hey guys, I wanted to clarify a couple of things about my health and fitness. My surgery in June was successful and I had begun training with the hope of returning to national duty for the team's tour of the West Indies. Unfortunately, as I was nearing a return to full fitness, I tested positive for COVID-19."
