Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik has backed KL Rahul to finish his Test career with an average of 45. Rahul has aggregated 3789 runs in 63 Test matches at an average of 35.41, which doesn’t do justice to his talent and technique.

The Indian opener impressed on the recently concluded England tour, scoring 532 runs in five Test matches at an average of 53.2, including two centuries. The flamboyant batter ended the series as the third-highest run-getter after Shubman Gill and Joe Root.

Rahul, the senior batter along with Ravindra Jadeja, came up with consistent performances and gave a good start to the visitors at the top of the order.

Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz, “I have a doubt that he’s going to change that to around 45-48. It’s really hard because he has played 60 Test matches. But, take it from me; KL Rahul will finish with an average of 45.”

Karthik hailed Rahul for taking the onus on his shoulders as an experienced batter in the team.

“As a pre-cursor to the series, three big names retired – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin. Walking into the series, there were two big names with experience in batting – one is KL Rahul, one is [Ravindra Jadeja].

The former gloveman recalled that Rahul veered off the track on many occasions after getting off to a solid start in the series.

“KL Rahul has had great start to many a series, but has not finished strong. But I think, in this series, that young boy has actually grown into a man. He shouldered responsibility. He is probably the most technically sound player across both teams. And he backed his technique. Under pressure, he said, I will stick to my game plan and back my defensive skill,” Karthik went on to add.

Rahul would look to carry the same form in the Asia Cup.