"KL Rahul will finish with an average of 45" - Former cricketer's massive prediction for opener after ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has predicted that senior opener KL Rahul will have an average of 45 by the time he finishes his Test career. Admitting that it would be a tough proposition for the 33-year-old to get to the figure, Karthik still threw his weight behind the star batter.

Opening the batting, Rahul had an excellent series in England. In 10 innings, he scored 532 runs at an average of 53.20, with two hundreds and two half-centuries. He finished as the third-leading run-getter in the series, behind Shubman Gill (754) and Joe Root (537).

Though he made a big impact in the Test series in England, the talented batter has an underwhelming average of 35.41 after 63 matches in the format. While admitting that Rahul's average doesn't do justice to his talent, Karthik made a big prediction on the Karnataka cricketer and told Cricbuzz:

"I have a doubt that he’s going to change that to around 45-48. It’s really hard because he has played 60 Test matches. But, take it from me; KL Rahul will finish with an average of 45."

Karthik praised Rahul for shouldering a lot of responsibility during the Test series in England, being one of the senior pros in the team following the retirement of some big names. The 40-year-old elaborated:

"As a pre-cursor to the series, three big names retired - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin. Walking into the series, there were two big names with experience in batting - one is KL Rahul, one is [Ravindra Jadeja]. "KL Rahul has had great start to many a series, but has not finished strong. But I think, in this series, that young boy has actually grown into a man. He shouldered responsibility. He is probably the most technically sound player across both teams. And he backed his technique. Under pressure, he said, I will stick to my game plan and back my defensive skill," Karthik went on to add.

Rahul kicked off the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with scores of 42 & 137 in Leeds. He contributed 55 in the second innings in Birmingham and followed it up with 100 & 39 at Lord's and 49 & 90 in Manchester. The opener ended the series with low scores of 14 & 7 at The Oval.

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KL Rahul's impressive Test record in England

While Rahul's overall Test numbers are disappointing, he has a pretty good record in red-ball cricket in England. In 14 matches, he has scored 1,146 runs at an average of 40.92, with four hundreds and three half-centuries.

The right-handed batter scored 149 at The Oval in 2018 and a match-winning 129 at Lord's in 2021. He also scored 84 in Nottingham during the same tour.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert