KL Rahul should be disappointed getting out to an off-spinner off a straightforward delivery: Zaheer Khan

Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan believes KL Rahul should be disappointed getting out to an off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz off a straightforward delivery. Rahul was a bit unlucky as Zakir Hasan took a brilliant catch, while diving to his right at short-leg.

In fact, it wasn’t a bat-pad dismissal and Rahul had hit the ball almost from the middle of the bat. Rahul meandered to 16 runs off 52 balls and added 48 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal before he was dismissed.

“If a batter spends time at the crease and plays 50-60 balls, then one can say that he is set. If you get out after getting set, then it is a cause for concern. KL Rahul played through what is considered tough time for a batter. But then, getting out to an off-spinner off a straightforward delivery is disappointing,” Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz.

Khan, who has joined KL Rahul’s Lucknow Super Giants as a bowling mentor, added the batting position is not an issue for the flamboyant batter.

“I don’t think there is a lot to ponder upon as far as batting order is concerned. If you are batting in the middle-order, it’s either at four, five or six, depending on the team situation and needs. Skipper Rohit Sharma had also made it clear that the middle-order role has been fixed for him,” the Indian legend explained.

Rahul has scored 2863 runs in 50 Test matches at an average of 34.08 and he is the only Indian batter who averages below 35 after playing 80 Test innings despite batting in the top six.

India finished strongly at 339-6 at stumps on the opening day after unbeaten contributions of 102 and 86 from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja respectively.