As India heads to Pune for the second Test match against New Zealand in what is a do-or-die clash, all eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir as they face a serious headache in deciding their playing XI, with the big question coming in the middle order as KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan battle for one remaining spot.
In the Bengaluru Test, Sarfaraz Khan was drafted into the playing XI following an injury to Shubman Gill. Both Rahul and Sarfaraz made ducks in the first inning as the hosts were bundled out for just 46 runs. However, the fate of both players drastically changed in the second inning.
Sarfaraz continued his red-hot form and made a marathon knock of 150 while registering his maiden career for the national team. On the other hand, Rahul was dismissed for 12 as the team once again collapsed in the second innings as they went from 408-4 to 462 all-out.
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With Gill fit again, India face a big call with Rahul's spot coming under danger as Sarfaraz continues to breath down his neck having earlier also made a strong impression in the England series.
So far, Sarfaraz has played four Test match in his career and made 350 runs in seven innings at an average of 58.33 with one century and three half-centuries.
India's KL Rahul Conundrum
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There is no doubting that KL Rahul is among the most talented players in world cricket and he has shown his class in red-ball cricket for India in tough conditions. Be it the century against England at Lord's or the two tons against South Africa in Centurion.
However, Rahul's career stats make for a disappointing reading. Rahul made his Test debut for India almost 10 years ago (26th December 2014) against Austarlia at MCG and has played 53 Tests, scored 2981 runs at an average of just 33.87.
Among the 20 players, who have played more than 80 innings for India in the history of Test cricket in the top six batting positions, Rahul has the worst average.
Record Of Indian Batters To Play More Than 80 Innings In Top Six Batting Positions
| Player | Matches In Top Six Batting Positions | Innings In Top Six Batting Position | Runs Scored In Top Six Batting Positions | Average In Top Six Batting Position | Centuies In Top Six Batting Positions |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 197 | 325 | 15804 | 54.12 | 51 |
| Rahul Dravid | 162 | 280 | 12986 | 52.36 | 36 |
| VVS Laxman | 132 | 214 | 8433 | 45.33 | 17 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 124 | 211 | 10103 | 51.02 | 34 |
| Virat Kohli | 116 | 196 | 9006 | 48.94 | 29 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 113 | 185 | 7116 | 42.10 | 16 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 116 | 184 | 6867 | 42.38 | 17 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 102 | 176 | 7195 | 43.60 | 19 |
| Virender Sehwag | 101 | 172 | 8339 | 50.23 | 23 |
| Gundappa Viswanath | 91 | 154 | 6001 | 41.38 | 14 |
| Mohammmad Azharuddin | 98 | 146 | 6100 | 44.52 | 21 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 85 | 143 | 4959 | 37.85 | 11 |
| Rohit Sharma | 62 | 107 | 4233 | 43.63 | 12 |
| Murli Vijay | 61 | 105 | 3982 | 38.28 | 12 |
| Mohinder Amarnath | 65 | 104 | 4187 | 44.07 | 11 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 57 | 102 | 4141 | 42.69 | 9 |
| Ravi Shastri | 62 | 93 | 3029 | 35.22 | 10 |
| KL Rahul | 53 | 91 | 2981 | 33.87 | 9 |
| Polly Umrigar | 56 | 89 | 3365 | 41.03 | 11 |
| Vijay Manjrekar | 53 | 84 | 3050 | 40.13 | 7 |
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The underwhelming career statistics have ensured a sword is hanging over Rahul's head, and he is only one failure away from his spot being questioned. While the reality is that Rahul has scored a 50+ score in three of the last six Tests he has played, the long rope given to him means patience is thin with him among fans and experts despite the team management's faith in him.
It is worth pointing out that Rahul has played as an opener for most of his Test career. Out of the 91 innings he has played in Test cricket, Rahul has played 75 as an opener, in which he has 2551 runs at an average of 34.94 with seven centuries. He holds the unique distinction of being the only Indian opener in history to score a Test century in Australia, England, and South Africa.
However, Rahul was dropped from the team midday during the home series against Australia last year, with Shubman Gill replacing him as Rohit Sharma's opening partner. A few months later, Yashasvi Jaiswal made the opening spot his own, with Gill cementing himself as India's new number three.
This marked the end of the road for Rahul as an opener, but he found himself back in the squad for the tour of South Africa as the team's wicketkeeper batter. After his impressive ton in the first Test, Rahul gave the gloves and retained his spot for the England series at home as a specialist middle-order batter.
However, he played just one Test series in the series before missing the last four games due to an injury. Fit-again, Rahul was recalled to the team for the home series against Bangladesh and started in the playing XI as Sarfaraz was benched.
In the current home season, Rahul has played three Tests and scored 118 runs in five innings with an average of 29.50 with one half-century.