Table of Contents

KL Rahul’s form became a hot topic of discussion during the recently-concluded T20I series against England, although for the wrong reasons. He had a poor run with the bat, scoring figures of 1, 0, 0 and, 14 in the first four matches, before being rested for the final one.

But KL Rahul has shown time and time again that he knows how to bounce back and that is exactly what he did in the 50-overs format. He smashed a brisk fifty in the first ODI, helping India to a solid total of 317. The Karnataka batsman followed it up with a century in the 2nd ODI against England on Friday. Even though India lost the match, his batting received widespread praise.

KL Rahul Image Source : GETTY IMAGES — KL Rahul Image Source: GETTY IMAGES

KL Rahul Had To Change Mindset For Playing In The Gaps As He Batted In The Middle Order: Virender Sehwag

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag explained how KL Rahul’s mentality has shifted in the ODIs because of him batting in the middle-order, instead of opening the innings.

“When the openers come out to bat, the thought process is to cash in the first 10 overs. So, you get less time for yourself. Whenever I use to open the innings, I always use to think about whether I can make an impact in the first 10 overs, and cash in during the powerplay,” Sehwag said.

“So, maybe that is the mentality of the openers. But when you bat in the middle overs, the thought is that I cannot forcefully hit boundaries because the field is open. So, I have to play in the gaps and score ones and twos hit loose balls, and build a partnership. So that is different thinking. It is a difference in mindset,” Sehwag explained.

The former India opener further credited India captain Virat Kohli for trying out KL Rahul at various positions, which helped him in becoming the batsman he is today.

“KL Rahul has played at almost every slot. He might be one of the favourites batsmen of captain, hence he has tried to adjust him in every batting position. That is necessary, when a new player comes in, to make him a part of the playing XI,” Sehwag said.

“Even if you play him at no. 11, but you have to play them to give them confidence. India captain Virat Kohli has a huge role in making KL Rahul the great batsman he is today,” he added.

After a string of poor performances in the T20Is where he managed to score 15 runs in 4 games with two ducks, KL Rahul roared back to form during the first ODI between India and England. Batting at No. 5 in the match, he scored an unbeaten 62 off 43 balls, helping India post a huge total to win the game.

KL Rahul Was Dropped In 5th T20I

India had been struggling at the top of the order with KL Rahul scoring 1,0,0, 14 in the first four T20Is, Virat Kohli had backed KL Rahul to come well up until the final match as his patience finally ran out with the Karnataka batsman as the captain successfully promoted himself as an opener in the series-deciding final T20I.

KL Rahul receives strong backing from Virat Kohli, Vikram Rathour after a run of low scores| Reuters.

He was also the Orange Cap winner by virtue of being the highest run-getter captaining Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2020 at UAE, where he amassed 670 runs at an average of 55.83. He scored 659, 593, and 670 runs averaging above 50 in the last three IPL seasons.

He may have registered consecutive ducks in the last two matches, but he received the backing of India captain Virat Kohli, who feels the batsman is a ‘champion player’ in T20 cricket. KL Rahul averages 40.61 in T20Is despite having scores of 0,1,0 and 0 in the last 4 T20Is.