Selfless, team man, stylish, opener , keeper, maybe a finisher, someone who can captain and the list of adjectives can be endless for KL Rahul who has had a remarkable change in fortunes over the last year.

While last year during the same time, Rahul was banned from the Indian team after featuring in a controversial episode of Koffee with Karan, this year he has become an indispensable part of the Indian team all thanks to his commitment to the game, passion to perform and more than anything else, the ability to keep the team ahead of personal achievements.

Rahul failed like all humans. He failed miserably in Test match cricket and was struggling to get a place in the limited overs format, but then he scored tons of runs in domestic cricket for Karnataka and knocked the selection door with his impressive performance.

Such was his performances in the domestic circuit that national selectors just couldn't ignore him and had to try him at least in the limited overs setup and thus he was drafted in.

But then with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma going really well at the top of the order, where was he supposed to play, so he was looked as a backup opener.

However, whenever his opportunities came, he made it count big time. Suddenly the skipper felt that with him being in such prime form, all three- Rohit, Dhawan and Rahul need to be given a chance in the same XI.

The ploy failed once but when it came again and he was given a role of a finisher, he didn't disappoint.

 Soon enough, regular keeper Rishabh pant encountered a concussion and almost everybody turned their eyes towards guess who?

Rahul again.

And he didn't disappoint again as he put up a decent show behind the stumps.

If all if this wasn't enough, in an ODI game which saw Virat being rested and Rohit Sharma getting injured, KL Rahul even had to don the hat of a captain and he did that with meticulous precision.

 Such has been the manner in which his career has turned around that it looks magical, scripted and unreal but Rahul would know that none of it ever came easy.

Perhaps one characteristic which has been unique to Rahul's journey, especially in the last phase is his patience and ability to keep a calm head on his shoulders when there was a lot being said about him outside the field.

Rahul perhaps realised that the best way to redeem himself from whatever happened around the chat show controversy was through performance on the pitch and boy he has delivered, in more Roles than one and in no mean ways but extraordinary ones.

It's for no reason at all that he is compared to one of the legends of the game Rahul Dravid who too is known for his sacrifices and compromises for the team. Maybe it's clichéd and it may not be the best way to describe him but he aptly deserves the nickname

Kamal Lajawab Rahul