AUS vs IND, Adelaide Test: KL Rahul opens up on mental challenge of changing positions, says can bat anywhere

KL Rahul shares his confidence in adapting to any batting position after overcoming the mental challenges of being a floater in India's lineup.

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Senior India batter KL Rahul spoke on Wednesday about overcoming the "mental challenge" of being a floater in the batting lineup, expressing confidence in his ability to perform well at any position.

Rahul played brilliantly in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Perth, scoring 26 and 77 while opening the innings in place of regular captain Rohit Sharma, who was on a paternity break.

With Rohit returning to the playing XI for the upcoming day-night Test starting Friday, Rahul was naturally asked about his batting position.

"Anything (opening or middle order). I just want to be in the playing XI, which means wherever. You go there and bat and play for the team," the 32-year-old batter told reporters ahead of India's training session in Adelaide.

Rahul began his Test career in Australia a decade ago as a middle-order batter before later transitioning to the opening position. Over the years, his batting slot in both the Test and ODI setups has been inconsistent, which has had a mental impact on him.

"I have batted in many positions. Earlier it was a bit of a challenge, not technically but mentally about how to play those first 20-25 balls," he said.

"How early can I attack? How much do I need to be cautious? Those were things that were tricky early on. But now that I have played in Tests and ODIs all over the place, it has given me an idea of how I want to manage my innings," said the elegant stroke-maker, who has scored two centuries in South Africa, one in Australia, and a couple more in England, among his eight Test tons.

"Whether I am batting top of the order or in the middle order. If I can manage the first 30-40 balls at start, everything then seems like regular batting, that's what I try to focus on," he explained.

Rahul revealed that he was informed about the possibility of opening in Australia well ahead of time. To gain valuable match practice, the 32-year-old then played in the second game of the recent India A series against Australia A.

"I got told quite early as I missed out on the New Zealand (home) series, I didn't play the last two games, I was told to be ready that there might be a chance to open the batting. I got a lot of time to prepare and opening is something I have done a long time in my career. I just had to go back and bat a bit more and as I said, I have batted a lot at the top of the order to know, how to get my runs and what processes I need to follow," he said.

"I practised enough, I came here early to get some time in the middle. We played some practice games as well and it helped me in my preparation," he added.