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

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.

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"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.