KL Rahul left for South Africa on Tuesday night, where he will captain the Indian squad in three One-Day Internationals and play in two Test matches against the Proteas. Rahul’s career has undergone a dramatic change as he assumes a larger position as a batsman and wicketkeeper.

Although calling this KL Rahul 2.0 may be overly optimistic, it is clear that the opener KL Rahul era is about to end. This is the beginning of a new chapter in Rahul’s cricket career.
It is increasingly likely that he will not only handle the gloves in the three One-Day Internationals, but will also be the wicketkeeper in the Test matches. While Ishan Kishan has been named to the 16-man team, insider information suggests that Rahul would be favored for wicketkeeping over Ishan, as he has been in ODIs for some time.

Rahul’s progress as a middle-order batsman will be widely watched in the coming months, particularly during the two Tests against South Africa, the succeeding five Tests against England, and the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, he started the innings in the final Test he played, against Australia in New Delhi.
There are compelling signs that Rahul is keen on establishing himself as a wicketkeeper-middle-order batsman. Once one takes up the keeping gloves, a middle-order slot may be the obvious position for a batter in Tests but he is working on his strike-rate to fit into the new role in all formats.
Rahul is anticipated to play in the middle order, even for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, where he has mostly opened the innings. According to a person who is aware of the changes inside the Indian team, “He wants to evolve himself as a middle-order batsman across formats and establish himself there.”
Rahul has spent most of his nine-year international career as an opener (he opened in 44 Tests, 23 ODIs, and 55 T20Is for India). However, he is allegedly serious about this change and intends to concentrate entirely on the middle-order role. It makes sense that his recent success in the ODI format, especially in the Asia Cup and the World Cup, when he scored an astounding 452 runs at an average of more than 75 in 10 games, has encouraged him.
Inspired by his middle order successes, Rahul is rumored to have had conversations with chief selector Ajit Agarkar as well as the team administration, which includes coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. Getting a middle-order slot in all formats—including Twenty20 Internationals, where he has lost his spot—is the main goal. According to those aware of the conversations, Rahul seems committed to winning back his Twenty20 International spot for the next Twenty20 World Cup.

While Rahul has been an opener for his teams in the IPL historically, he has looked into playing middle order for the Lucknow Super Giants.
Given the presence of Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, and new acquisition Devdutt Padikkal in the Lucknow Super Giants lineup, questions regarding a possible change to the middle order have developed.