KL Rahul reflects on his shifting batting roles in recent years, emphasizing adaptability and a team-first mindset. From opening to middle-order and wicketkeeping, he embraces each challenge, showcasing his flexibility in India’s Test setup.
Team India veteran batter KL Rahul has opened up about the constant changes in his batting order over the past few years, following his gritty century knock against England in the first Test of the five-match series against England at Headingley in Leeds.
After the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket, KL Rahul was slotted back into the top order, the position where he initially made his mark in red-ball cricket and found early success. Over the last few years, the veteran batter was shunted up and down as Team India was looking for flexibility after Rishabh Pant was sidelined from cricketing actions due to injuries sustained from a horrific car crash in January 2023.
In the absence of Pant, Rahul not only batted in the middle-order but also took up wicketkeeping duties, showcasing his adaptability and flexibility when the team needed him the most.
‘I've forgotten what my position is’
Speaking at the press conference after Day 4 of the Headingley Test, KL Rahul admitted that he has forgotten about his batting position in the team, but downplayed its impact on his performance.
“The last couple of years I've forgotten what my position is and what I'm comfortable doing. I'm happy to be given different responsibilities and different roles,” the 33-year-old said as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
“Makes the game exciting and makes me want to challenge myself and train that much harder and work on my game a little bit more. So I've quite enjoyed doing that," he added.
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, KL Rahul batted at the top and middle order for Team India. Rahul opened the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first Test in Perth as Rohit Sharma was on paternity leave for the birth of his second child. After Rohit returned to the team, Rahul was demoted to the middle-order for three Tests in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Rahul was again pushed to the top-order of the batting line-up after Rohit Sharma opted out of the final Test of the five-match series against Australia in Sydney.
Rahul happy to play at the top order in England Test series
The veteran Indian batter admitted that he is happy to play at the top order and has enjoyed opening the innings in the recent outings since he batted as an opener during his early years as a cricketer.
“And the last couple of series, my role has been to open the batting, and I've enjoyed doing that as well.” KL Rahul said.
“Yeah, I mean that's something that I did growing up, and all my early years as a cricketer were me opening the batting. So yeah, I'm happy that I'm back doing that, and I'm happy that I'm doing the job for the team,” he added.
KL Rahul has a great outing in the ongoing first Test against England at Headingley. After scoring 42 in the first innings, Rahul bounced back and played a gritty but classy innings of 137 off 247 while forming a crucial 195-run stand for the fourth wicket with Rishabh Pant, who scored 118 off 140 balls, in the second innings.
KL Rahul has three Test centuries in England, making him the first Indian batter to achieve this feat as an opener, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant, Ravi Shastri, and Rahul Dravid, who have scored two centuries on English soil.
KL Rahul has a great Test record against England in England, amassing 793 runs, including 3 centuries and a fifty, at an average of 39.65 in 20 innings.