Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has heaped praise on KL Rahul for performing consistently as an opener in the Anderson-Tendulkar series against England, which ended 2-2 after the visitors won the final Test by six runs in a thrilling fashion.
KL Rahul delivered at the top of the order and took the onus on his shoulders as a senior batter. Rahul aggregated 532 runs in five Test matches at an average of 53.2 in the five-match series and batted at the top of his game.
Rahul scored two centuries in the series and delivered consistently as an opener for the visitors.
“People don’t realize how good KL is, particularly opening the batting. He was brilliant last series in England as well. I actually think Shubman scored the most runs, but I thought KL was probably the best I have seen him play. He is such a good player. I genuinely believe that he is one of the best in the world. Sometimes I just feel like he doesn’t take the handbrake off, generally, I’d say he’s one of the best players in the world,” Moeen Ali said on the ‘Beard Before Wicket’ podcast.
Rahul had also scored 315 runs in four Test matches on the 2021 tour of England at an average of 39.38.
England spinner Adil Rashid feels Rahul mostly goes under the radar despite performing decently for the team.
“He generally goes under the radar. This series how he’s batted, his tempo, his technique, how you speak of the art of batting in Test cricket, there was a lot of that in it. He had his game in order. He looked very comfortable. This has probably been the first where you’ve seen that over a period of five games, where he’s consistently looked class,” he said.
Meanwhile, Adil Rashid picked Shubman Gill as the batter of the series. Gill amassed 754 runs in five Test matches at a splendid average of 75.4.
“There’s been some great batters in this series. KL, Root. But you can’t look past Shubman. I think as a captain, batting number four, the runs he scored obviously, but I think the technique he’s shown has been unbelievable. The discipline. There were times where he could have played more shots, but he just stayed in. As captain, first series, unbelievable effort. I’d give it to him,” he said.
Rahul and Gill played a key role for India and would look to carry their rich form.
