Tons of Class

Patient and flamboyant, new batting sensation K.L. Rahul is balanced in his cricket and personality

- Neeru Bhatia

My body is my journal and my tattoos are my story,” reads a caption on one of K.L. Rahul's Instagram pictures.

Kannaur Lokesh Rahul can be expressive on and off the field. The man bun, beard and tattoos are a style statement for the present-day cricketer. The Samurai bun gave way to cool braids in Florida, where he scored a stunning unbeaten 110 that brought India within sniffing distance of a win against the kings of Twenty20, the West Indies. In whites or blue, Rahul is a picture of elegance, batting equanimity and chutzpah at the same time.

The Mangaluru boy is a product of the domestic cricket structure, not a fast-tracked product of the post- IPL era. He made his debut in Test cricket against Australia in December 2014, followed by ODI and T20 international debuts against Zimbabwe in June 2016.

Success did not come easily and his patience was tested. He was drafted into the Test side as the third opener and got a chance in Australia when in-form regular Murali Vijay suffered an injury during the tour.

“It [playing the waiting game] is part of the job,” he told THE WEEK on his return from Florida. “Nobody makes it big without the hunger, sacrifices and hard work. I have no complaints as these things make you tougher. I value my position in the team and am really happy with what I have.”

With that 45-ball ton at the Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Florida, Rahul became only the third Indian to hit a century in all three formats. He also holds the record of being the first Indian to score a century on debut in ODIs. He is just 16 matches old in international cricket (8 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is) but already has three Test hundreds to his credit and one each in ODIs and T20Is.