KL Rahul’s Ranji return after 5 years flops, a risky move before the Champions Trophy?

KL Rahul’s Ranji return after 5 years ended in disappointment, raising concerns over his form and confidence ahead of the crucial Champions Trophy.

Team India star KL Rahul failed to deliver big runs in his Ranji Trophy comeback after 5 years for Karnataka, as he managed to score only 26 runs off 37 balls against Haryana before getting out. After the stressful Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he took some rest and then returned to play in the Ranji Trophy, but the batter failed miserably as he was dismissed for 26 runs.

KL Rahul fails in Ranji, concerns over Champions Trophy

KL Rahul came to bat at number 3 and had an initial partnership with captain Mayank Agarwal, but he fell to a delivery from Anshul Kamboj and got out in the 34th over. It must have hampered his self-confidence before coming to white-ball cricket, as he is slated to play in the Champions Trophy in a few days.

KL Rahul and confidence before Champions Trophy

KL Rahul is known for having less confidence when it comes to playing. He was already hindered by his batting position in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, then he was on a break. If he wanted to play of BCCI wanted him to play Ranjiu matches, then he should’ve played at least both fixtures. A bad outing in the Ranji Trophy could really affect him a lot before going to the much-important ICC event Champions Trophy. Maybe it is not a good idea to play KL Rahul to play one red-ball match, before the white-ball tournament.

KL Rahul in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

KL Rahul had a decent run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He emerged as the fifth-highest scorer in the series and the third-highest for India. In the 5 matches he played, he scored 276 runs. He had to struggle a lot in the series as he kept changing his batting positions. Initially, Rohit Sharma was absent, and upon Sharma’s return, Rahul moved to the middle order and then opened again.