'Can we leave KL Rahul alone?': Harbhajan Singh backs under-fire Indian opener amid severe criticism

KL Rahul's form has become a huge talking point in the Indian cricket fraternity. The dashing opener has struggled for runs in the ongoing India-Australia Tests and has managed only 38 runs in three outings in the first two Tests. Thus, many have slammed him left, right and centre and called for his omission. Skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid continue to back the star opener whereas former cricketers Venkatesh Prasad and Aakash Chopra have been at loggerheads with regards to Rahul's place in the side.

Amid all this, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh took to his official Twitter handle to back Rahul and has urged one and all to 'leave him alone'. He tweeted, "Can we leave @klrahul alone guys ? He hasn’t done any crime.He is still a top player. He will come back strong.we all go thru such patches in international cricket.he is not the first one and last one. so please respect the fact that he is our own 🇮🇳 player and have faith." Here's Bhajji's post:

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Since Rahul's memorable ton in the India-South Africa Centurion Test in December 2021, the right-hander hasn't looked his part in whites. He has managed only 198 runs in the last 12 innings and his place is under threat with the rise of Shubman Gill in recent times.After India's Delhi Test victory, on February 19, Dravid backed Rahul and told Star Sports, "Ithink he (Rahul) needs to trust his processes. This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got centuries in South Africa and England, we’ll continue to back him. I believe he has the quality and class to come out of this."

The India-Australia third and penultimate Test kicks off on March 01 in Indore. It will be interesting to see if Rahul holds on to his spot or Gill is given a run.