“Good hundreds and then there is a lull” – Sanjay Manjrekar raises concerns on KL Rahul’s consistency in Tests.

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has raised concerns about KL Rahul’s consistency in Test cricket, despite having played close to 50 matches in the format. While acknowledging Rahul’s immense talent, Manjrekar highlighted a pattern where the right-handed batsman experiences fluctuations in performance after scoring centuries.

Rahul commenced the Test series in South Africa on a high note, delivering a splendid innings of 101 in the first match at Centurion. However, in the subsequent two innings, he faced dismissals at 4 and 8, respectively. The 31-year-old’s exit on Day 1 of the Cape Town Test marked the onset of a batting collapse for India, losing six wickets for zero runs in their first innings.

Engaging in a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar characterized Rahul as a distinctive batsman capable of scoring high-quality centuries. Simultaneously, he pointed out the inconsistency in Rahul’s performance, describing instances where he appears less impactful in several innings.

Manjrekar said “We are talking about KL Rahul, who has Test match experience of over 40 Test matches. It’s a very unique career that he has. A very unique batter as well. No doubt about the ability – we saw in the first innings [in Centurion]. But just look at the last three hundreds that he has got at the Test level – good hundreds and then there is a lull.”

“The next five innings after the last three hundreds, average was 19, 21 and 24. This is a very unique case where, after getting a hundred, his form just goes down. It’s happened three or four times in his career. Hope this time it’s slightly different.”