KL Rahul’s redemption story in 2025 Tests: a stellar average of 53.21 highlights his renewed form and mental toughness.
Since the beginning of 2025, KL Rahul has collected 745 runs in 15 innings at an average of 53.21. This includes his special performance in England’s challenging conditions. His presence in the middle against the new ball was crucial for India. The ongoing year has been a period of redemption for the Bengaluru-born.
The Karnataka batter was superb in leaving deliveries outside the off-stump in a unique way. Most importantly, his head hardly falls off late while playing the full deliveries, helping him keep a perfect balance in his stance. Rahul remains one of the few senior batters of India’s Test side post the retirement of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Cheteshwar Pujara.
KL Rahul 2.0 leads the run charts in 2025 – Fresh and hungry
Since the beginning of 2025, Rahul has been the second leading run-getter in the longest format. His 745 runs are only behind the Blue Brigade’s captain, Shubman Gill, who bagged 979 runs in 15 innings.
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Most runs in Tests since January 1, 2025
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s | HS |
| S Gill | 15 | 979 | 69.92 | 63.57 | 01/05 | 269 |
| KL Rahul | 15 | 745 | 53.21 | 51.06 | 03/03 | 137 |
| Y Jaiswal | 15 | 662 | 44.13 | 67.78 | 02/03 | 175 |
| R Jadeja | 13 | 659 | 82.37 | 52.39 | 05/02 | 107* |
| S Williams (ZIM) | 16 | 648 | 43.20 | 76.32 | 04/01 | 137 |
Meanwhile, Rahul stays at the top in terms of his performance at the opening position in 2025. The 33-year-old’s 745 runs are way more than Jaiswal’s 662 runs who holds the second position. Both of them celebrated three centuries each at the opening spot in 2025.
Most runs as Test openers since January 1, 2025
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s | HS |
| KL Rahul | 15 | 745 | 53.21 | 51.06 | 03/03 | 137 |
| Y Jaiswal | 15 | 662 | 44.13 | 67.68 | 02/03 | 175 |
| B Duckett | 10 | 602 | 60.20 | 87.12 | 03/02 | 149 |
| U Khawaja | 13 | 461 | 38.41 | 53.98 | 00/01 | 232 |
| Rickelton (SA) | 07 | 436 | 72.66 | 61.32 | 01/01 | 259 |
Rahul’s conversion rate in red-ball cricket has also improved. From the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2024, the right-handed batter notched up nine fifty-plus scores and converted three of those into centuries. However, in 2025, the veteran has transformed three out of six 50+ scores into centuries.
Against the pacers, Rahul’s average was below 35 between 2021 and 2024. In 2025, it has fired up to nearly 50, which is an excellent improvement from the opening batter. The same trend continues against the spinners, with the average moving up by more than eight.
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KL Rahul’s performance vs pacers comparison
| Period | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | Dismissals |
| Jan 2021-Dec 2024 | 36 | 2047 | 34.40 | 45.4 | 27 |
| Jan 2025 – | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | Dismissals |
| 15 | 549 | 49.90 | 51.10 | 11 |
KL Rahul’s performance vs spinners comparison
| Period | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | Dismissals |
| Jan 2021-Dec 2024 | 17 | 304 | 30.40 | 56.90 | 10 |
| Jan 2025 – | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | Dismissals |
| 23 | 500 | 38.50 | 54.40 | 13 |
Any batter gets judged by their performance in unfamiliar conditions, and Rahul has done an exceptional job this year away from home. Between the beginning of 2021 and the end of 2024, he collected 970 Test runs away from home at 34.64. While in 2025, he has bagged 549 runs at an average 45.75 outside home.
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KL Rahul’s away Test performance comparison
| Period | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s | HS |
| Jan 2021- Dec 2024 | 29 | 970 | 34.64 | 44.92 | 04/03 | 129 |
| Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 50s/100s | HS | |
| Jan 2025 – | 12 | 549 | 45.75 | 49.90 | 02/02 | 137 |
KL Rahul’s tiny changes in technique bring massive success
Towards the start of KL Rahul’s career, he used to get dismissed either bowled or LBW against the in-swinging deliveries. He later started to bring the bat swing closer to his body. The right-handed batter also started to move across to close the gap between bat and body to counter those balls sneaking through.
However, this opened up new chinks in his armour as Rahul started to get squared up and nick off the balls on the fifth or sixth stump. He hardly had any knowledge of his off-stump. At times, he used to get a massive score, but the inconsistency continued to put pressure on his shoulders.
But currently, with more experience and better assurance of his abilities, Rahul has been incredibly disciplined in dealing with balls outside off-stump. In his new stance, he keeps the bat at a straight line and expects the ball to move away most times. Even if it jacks back, the soft hands help the outside edges drop short of the slip fielders. His trigger movement has also changed, making him more balanced and compact at the time of meeting the ball.
Heading into the two-match red-ball series against South Africa, his focus would be on continuing the same routine. If he requires any little improvement, it would be stretching his century into a big score. Out of his three centuries this year, he has been dismissed on exactly 100 twice at Lord’s and Ahmedabad. Can he now aim to push his century a little further?
The opening clash of the Protea Test series begins on November 14 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The second game will take place between November 22 to 26 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
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