'Consistency is the problem in KL Rahul's case' - Mohammed Azharuddin

Indian wicketkeeper-opener KL Rahul needs to be more consistent and work on his technical flaws with national team coaches, feels former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin. The 57-year-old Azhar, whose elegant wrist work made him a cynosure of cricket fans, is a bit disappointed that a player of Rahul's talent doesn't realise his full potential.

"Consistency is the problem in KL Rahul's case. But I think some coaches should rectify his flaws. In my opinion, he is a good player, but consistency is missing in his game," Azharuddin told PTI in an exclusive interaction. Rahul, who has had a string of poor scores since his international comeback, was bowled round his legs for a sedate 39 in the opening One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Tuesday.

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"I think Rahul is getting out in a lot of manners. Primarily, it is not the good balls that are getting him out. The poor shot selection is causing problems," said Azhar, who believes that all senior players should take time and play domestic cricket. Limited over captain Rohit Sharma and superstar Virat Kohli were among the runs in the opening ODI.

Azharuddin feels that these two will be India's premier performers during the 50-over World Cup at the end of the year. "Both are outstanding and classy players and have also done well in the past, as the records say. I believe Kohli and Rohit will do fairly well in the World Cup. In ODI format, they have always been consistent," he assessed.

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Having captained the Indian team in two phases and close to a decade between 1990 to 1999, Azharuddin has a fair idea about people with leadership acumen. Hardik Pandya, the new T20 skipper, is one such player, according to him. "Hardik has looked good as a leader and can carry the team along. But he needs to be careful about his back as he has been out for a long time. India would need Hardik, the all-rounder, and we can't afford to risk injuries. Hardik has got a young team, and that's the way forward. He expressed that it will need strong coordination to forge a winning combination for the upcoming T20 series," he expressed.

Indian selectors have copped a lot of flak of late. Azhar would ideally like his former teammate and chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma, to clear the air about specific selections so there is clarity. "Chetan is supposed to be doing at least one or two press conferences and should tell that what is the way forward for the current Indian team," he was forthright.

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Azhar has now been the president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for more than a year but had his share of differences with former India players like Arshad Ayub and Shivlal Yadav about running the administration. "It has been good so far. We are fighting to revive the lost reputation of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. We have had a lot of work done [in terms of renovation] in the Stadium arena and dressing rooms," he sounded.

"When I took charge, it was all in pathetic condition. We will host our second international match in three months [vs New Zealand]. We are pleased that the BCCI has recognised our hard work and matches are being allotted to us," Azharuddin spoke. It must be mentioned that BCCI awards game to every centre as per its own devised rotation system. Thus, Hyderabad is hosting a T20 and ODI in a short time.

(With inputs from PTI)