KL Rahul had a massive brain-fade moment on the field during the second day of play between India and Australia at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium. Rahul was caught completely unaware of the ball being around him while fielding at fine-leg, and his costly error cost India a boundary.This incident happened in the 6th over of Australia's innings, with Usman Khawaja on strike and Ravindra Jadeja bowling to him. Trying to put the pressure back on the Indians, Australia adopted an aggressive approach, and Khawaja played a risky shot towards midwicket. Rahul was in the area, and many, including his teammates, expected him to pick up the ball.
However, Rahul did not spot the ball going beside him and looked completely clueless upon seeing it reach the boundary line, much to the surprise of almost everyone watching. However, the mistake did not cost India much, as Jadeja got Khawaja's wicket on the very next ball. After Rahul's mishap, India saw a bit of genius on the field as Shreyas Iyer took an incredible catch.After a good comeback in the England series and good outing in South Africa, Rahul's form has nosedived in Test cricket. The opener has been averaging just 17.4 in Tests since 2022 – which is the lowest by any Indian batter batting from 1 to 7 with a minimum of 100 runs scored. Rahul also has the 2nd lowest average by any opening batter in Tests since 2022. KL Rahul last scored a Test century in December 2021 against South Africa at Centurion. His last half-century also came in that series a week later. Talking about Rahul's problems with the bat, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said the right-hander has a mental block and doesn't know whether to go forward or back. He also explained the fault in his technique by giving the example of India captain Rohit Sharma.Australia great Mark Waugh believed Rahul has a constant fear of getting out which restricts him from playing naturally.
