India’s flamboyant cricketer, KL is a tall, beguiling batsman on who India can depend during a crisis. Be it a batting emergency or a wicketkeeping emergency or a fielding emergency, KL Rahul has got it all. According to critics, he is arguably the most sought-after India’s next-gen opener. Part of the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, Rahul made his first-class debut later that year. However, it was 2013-14 that he enjoyed his breakthrough season.

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During that season he guided Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy victories with 1033 runs, including three centuries, three nineties and a man of the match performance in the final.

In July 2014, Rahul performed averagely in India A’s tour of Australia. After a poor international start, in the 2014-15 domestic season, Rahul struck twin centuries and owing to this he received a national call-up for India’s tour of Australia.

During that tour, Rahul yet again crumbled under pressure but when he got the opportunity of opening the innings in the Sydney Test, he cashed in on it. He scored a patient hundred and proving that he has what it takes to be on the national side.

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Rahul has always shown the tendency to convert small runs into big ones. But soon, he had an “all-or-nothing” player tag attached to him. Having selected in the limited-over squads, the Bangalore-born batsman scored a hundred each on ODI and T20I debut.

Over the years, he continued showing his worth with the bat and continued receiving national team call-ups. Be it Test, ODI or T20Is, Rahul has become India’s one of the most versatile players and has the characteristics of being one of the solid performers that India has seen.