"Main man now in Test cricket" - Irfan Pathan's big statement on Indian batter amid ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that batter KL Rahul was the "main man now in Test cricket" as India begin a transition in the longest format. The 40-year-old said that Rahul was the link between the seniors and juniors in the Indian setup, with the Test retirements of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rahul debuted in Test cricket in 2014 and has played 58 Tests for India since with 17 fifties and eight hundreds.

"KL Rahul is the link between seniors who retired and youngsters who are in the team. He is the main man now in test cricket who will excel in this responsibility. Brilliant batting so far. Need to make it big," Pathan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, June 23.

While inconsistency may have impacted Rahul's progress in his Test career, his performances away from home are as good as any Indian batter. Rahul has made seven out his eight Test hundreds overseas in places like South Africa, England and Australia.

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant rebuild India's innings after the early fall of Shubman Gill on Day 4

India had the worst possible start to Day 4 of the first Test against England at Leeds as skipper Shubman Gill fell for eight runs. The onus fell on the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant to rebuild the Indian innings and extend the lead in the second innings.

The pair mixed caution and aggression and Rahul crossed his fifty, during the course of the partnership. Rahul had fallen for 42 in the first innings, trying to drive a full ball only to be caught by Joe Root in the slip cordon.

At the time of writing, India were 148/3 in 46 overs with Rahul on 71 and Pant on 27. The lead had extended to 154 runs.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee