KL Rahul in Centurion Test (Courtesy: BCCI/Twitter)

Indian commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has called for improvement upon KL Rahul after his contrasting knocks in the Centurion Test. The former India batter pointed out that the wicketkeeper-batter has struggled to maintain consistency in the longest format since making his debut in 2014.

In the Centurion Test, Rahul was the top scorer for the visitors in the first inning, scoring 101 off 137 deliveries. His well-composed knock was laced with 14 boundaries and four hits over the fence. However, he struggled to get going in the second inning, scoring four runs off 24 deliveries.

“We are talking about KL Rahul, who has Test match experience of over 40 Test matches. It’s a very unique career that he has. A very unique batter as well. No doubt about the ability – we saw in the first innings (in Centurion). But just look at the last three hundred that he has got at the Test level – good hundreds and then there is a lull,” Manjrekar said during a discussion on EspnCricinfo.

“The next five innings after the last three hundred, average was 19, 21 and 24. This is a very unique case where, after getting a hundred, his form just goes down. It’s happened three or four times in his career. Hope this time it’s slightly different,” the 58-year-old added.

Rahul has batted in various positions for Team India in the longest format. He has featured in 48 Tests, amassing 2747 runs at an average of 33.41. He has the highest score of 199 in the longest format and has notched up eight centuries and 13 half-centuries.