Returning to Test cricket after nearly seven months, K. L. Rahul had an underwhelming outing in Chennai last week with scores of 16 and an unbeaten 22 against Bangladesh.
While the seasoned campaigner continues to be in India’s scheme of things for the second Test, beginning Friday at the Green Park Stadium, questions remain over his batting approach in red-ball cricket.
Before the series against Bangladesh, Rahul featured in a sole Duleep Trophy fixture for India A, where his 111-ball-37 drew flak for failing to take advantage in key moments and showing reluctance to play attacking shots.
However, in the second innings, he came up with a gritty 57 off 121 deliveries and anchored the innings amid a batting collapse, even though his side went down to India B.
While there have been concerns over his future in the longer format, India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar backed the batter and insisted that he will find his mojo going forward.
Abhishek Nayar addresses a press conference ahead of the 2nd cricket Test match between India and Bangladesh at the Green Park Stadium, in Kanpur. | Photo Credit: PTI
“When you are playing for India, inspiration is not something you need. Sometimes it is just direction and having spent a little time with him over the last few days, I think he is someone who understands his game very well,” Nayar said on the eve of the second Test.
Since his debut in December 2014, Rahul has featured in just 51 Test matches, scoring 2901 runs at an average of 34.12. While he has batted at four different positions in his career, he has somehow failed to maintain dominance.
As an opener in 75 innings, Rahul amassed 2551 runs at an average of 34.94, with seven centuries and 12 fifties.
While at No.3, he had five innings and scored just 88 runs at an average of 17.60, he scored a lone fifty and maintained an average of 54 while batting at No.4 on two occasions. In those two innings, Rahul scored 108.
At No.6, he had six innings and scored 154.
ALSO READ: Shakib retires from T20Is, to play last his Test against South Africa
But Nayar, who has worked with several Indian cricketers in the past during their challenging times, does not want to look too much into the numbers.
“Yes, there are times where a player is sort of finding his feet. I feel in South Africa, he played tremendous knocks for India when he was there. So, we are very hopeful to the kind of combination that Gauti bhai (head coach Gautam Gambhir) has had and I have had with him that hopefully, we can have a turnaround in KL as well,” Nayar said.
“These things sometimes take time. But I feel the way he is batting, even in the last game, I know we did not end up giving him much of a shot in the second innings, the way he was batting in the second innings is the kind of cricket we are expecting and hoping for from him. And I am pretty sure going forward you will see the expectations and the performances that you have from him,” the assistant coach added.
Gambhir and Rahul during a training session ahead of the 2nd Test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, in Kanpur. | Photo Credit: PTI
In December last year, Rahul scored 101 in the first innings against South Africa in Centurion - becoming the only visiting batter to score two centuries (the first being in December 2021) at the venue, which hasn’t quite helped the non-South African batters in the past.
Since then, an injury sidelined him during the home Test series against England earlier this year, but now that he is back in the business, it’s crucial for Rahul to find his rhythm.
Comments
SHARE