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First we should take a look at what KL Rahul’s stats in Test cricket are right now. As of July 19, 2025, Rahul has played 61 Test matches in which he has scored 3632 runs at an average of 35.3. He has scored 10 centuries and 18 half-centuries in his career so far.
Looking at it in a little bit in-depth, in 32 innings played at home, Rahul has scored 1149 runs at an average of 39.6. Meanwhile, while playing away from home, he averages 33.55.
Among his 10 Test centuries, Rahul has notably scored 9 of them while playing abroad. Additionally, 7 of these centuries have been achieved in SENA countries, underscoring his significant contribution outside of India.
Meanwhile, some of his notable Test innings for India includes the 199 runs vs England in 2016 in Chennai, 110 vs Australia in his 2nd Test match of his career in Sydney, 123 runs vs South Africa in 2021 in Centurion and 129 runs vs England at Lord's in 2021.
These are some of the most memorable knocks from the Karnataka batter under great pressure from top bowling attacks. So despite all the great knocks at the most difficult situations, why is Rahul’s average so low, has he failed to reach his ceiling?
One of the bigger reasons behind KL Rahul's low batting average in Test cricket is that he has been inconsistent and lacks quality on some occasions. Rahul has not been able to consistently score big runs for Team India. His Test career so far has been a mix of low quality performance between two standout performances.
For example, after KL Rahul scored the 199 runs vs England in Chennai until his 149 runs inning at The Oval, Rahul played 28 innings in Test cricket and scored over fifty plus in just 4 occasions. According to some stats, Rahul in Test career has been dismissed under the score 20 runs for in more than 45% of the matches he has played in his career.
This aspect has played a crucial role in affecting KL Rahul's batting average in Test matches. The batter just couldn't maintain a consistent run scoring flow in his Test career. Whereas we compare this to some of the top middle order batters who played for team India like Cheteshwar Pujara. A player like Pujara has always maintained the ability to absorb the pressure and grind out big innings and has consistently delivered big innings.
KL Rahul is one of the most technically gifted players. He is a very astute batter who is very solid in either side of the game. His ability to drive the ball or punch the ball off the backfoot is a delight to watch. But just like no player is made perfect, Rahul also has faults in this game.
In the past, it has been observed in KL Rahul’s game that he has a tendency to play the balls outside off, which he could easily let go. It has also been noticed that Rahul is quite indecisive in footwork, especially early in his innings.
Another big reason behind Rahul's low average is mostly down to his conversion rate. We have seen on various occasions that KL Rahul gives away his wicket street scoring 20-30 runs. He has to be able to convert his starts into big scores to maximize his batting average in Test cricket.
We have seen that KL Rahul's career so far has been full of no clarity on his role in the team or his batting position in the team. Rahul is in-fact known as the floater batter.
He began his Test career as the opening batter for the Indian team. But, up until 2025, Rahul has played as the number 3 batter, also played lower down the order at number 5 or 6 and on occasions he also filled in as the wicketkeeper.
This has been the story of Rahul throughout his Test cricket. The constant change of role and batting position has played a significant role in him not being able to give his best in every game. Players like Pujara flourished after being given a chance in one particular position whereas Rohit Sharma had a successful Test career after he was promoted to opening.
So it is quite important for Rahul to find out what his best position in the team is. He is now a regular member of the team as the opener after Rohit Sharma retired before the Anderson-Tendulkar series.
Another factor which had gone against KL Rahul is that, the Indian cricket team have for a long time preferred different batters over Rahul, who either gets moved from his position or not included in the playing XI.
In the past, we have seen the Indian cricket team trying out players like Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer and even Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of Rahul where these players got the priority of their batting position over Rahul's batting position, who either got demoted to left out of the playing XI completely.
But it seems now that under Gautam Gambhir, KL Rahul has found a permanent place as the opening batsman of the team after captain Rohit Sharma retired from the format, opening a big gap and Rahul has been trusted with the responsibility.
In the ongoing England series, Rahul has opened the innings in all six innings for Team India in which the 33-years-old batsman has scored 375 runs including two centuries, one half-century and twice getting out close to his fifty.
Rahul has a fair few months as the opening batsman of the team as he is one of the most experienced batters in the Indian set-up and until someone young and highly promising opener step-up, Rahul is probably now gonna get a considerable amount of matches as the opener.
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