3 instances when KL Rahul wasted a review 

India have not been too successful with the DRS while bowling or batting. In the recently concluded England Test series, India had made a total of 22 wrong DRS calls, with 11 each in batting and bowling. The 11 wrong calls in bowling were understandable in the absence of Dhoni behind the wicket as Dinesh Karthik was non-committal while Rishabh Pant was inexperienced. Again, most of the calls in bowling were more out of desperation than out of conviction.

But what was baffling was the 11 wrong calls made by India in batting. Kohli was wrong in using the DRS in the second innings of the Fourth Test when he had gloved Mooen Ali to forward short leg.

For India, while batting, the repeat offender who did not use the DRS judiciously was none other than KL Rahul.

There were 3 recent incidents when Rahul had exhausted the review for India with his indiscretion.

#1 India Vs England – Fourth Test at Southampton

In the first innings of the Fourth Test at Southampton, Rahul was batting on 19 when he was trapped in front of the wicket by Stuart Broad. Broad, as always, ran towards the wicket-keeper by way of premature celebration without looking at the umpire. It was so plumb that the umpire had no hesitation in raising his fingers.

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Rahul himself was convinced that he was a goner and started his walk back towards the pavilion. The 15 seconds review time almost elapsed. Suddenly, for some strange reasons, Pujara stopped Rahul on his tracks and asked him to go for a review. Rahul gladly accepted the offer and was once again sent on his way back to the pavilion. To Rahul’s credit, he was not to be blamed on this occasion as it was Pujara who made the call and the review went horribly wrong for India. India lost the review so early in the innings.

#2 India Vs Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2018

In the Asia Cup, Rahul got his only opportunity against Afghanistan. India were chasing 252 and the openers Rahul and Ambati Rayadu put on 110 runs. Rayadu got out for 57.

Rahul was batting beautifully on 60 runs when he attempted a reverse sweep off the ever accurate Rashid Khan. It was a full and fast delivery on off-stump and Rahul went for the reverse sweep. The ball landed on the middle stump and hit the back leg. The umpire lifted the finger immediately.

The only thing that could have saved Rahul was an inside edge or the kiss of the glove. He unwisely went for the review and it was three reds all the way.

Rahul left the field taking the review with him. Unfortunately, in one-day matches, every team has only one review which should be used shrewdly.

His decision to go for the review, when unsure deprived Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik to make use of the technology when they needed them the most. Rahul came under severe criticism once the match ended in a tie.

#3 India Vs West Indies – First Test at Rajkot

It seems Rahul hasn’t learned from his mistakes. In the ongoing first Test against the West Indies, Gabriel pitched the ball full and made to swing back in and Rahul, who prodding forward, was caught in the crease. It was as plumb as it could have gotten.

Umpire Ian Gould had no hesitation in lifting his finger. Rahul consulted the non-striker Prithvi Shaw, who on his debut, and decided to go for the review.

As it turned out, it was once again an erroneous decision on the part of Rahul to burn the review in the first over itself. Thankfully for India, they have one more review left in this innings.

To sum up, it would be in the interest of the team if openers show caution while going for the review. Since they are the ones who have the right the use the review on the first available opportunity, they have the responsibility to make use of it sensibly.

Sometimes, the top-order batsmen take a chance with the umpire’s call which would result in the review being retained. But at the same time that could be the very cause of losing a review.