What is the secret to KL Rahul's success in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England? Ravi Shastri explains
If you have to name the most improved cricketer in the Indian men's team at the moment, it has to be KL Rahul. Which is ironic, given that he was once tagged as the next superstar of Indian cricket due to his immense talent as a batter. Dale Steyn, during his SRH days in 2013-14 spoke highly of Rahul and his stunning white-ball transition thereafter only pushed his case further forward.
However, a decade later and Rahul is at that point of his career where he is enjoying his rebirth of sorts. There was never any doubt about the Karnataka man's talent but his mindset and mentality often came under the scanner, more so in white-ball cricket. Despite his phenomenal range of strokes and stylish batting methodology, Rahul eventually found himself out of India's T20I setup, although he has redeemed himself in ODIs. It's in Test cricket, though, that Rahul has stamped his comeback with full force.
On successive away tours of Australia and England, Rahul has looked solid in his stay at the crease. He has got the tough runs and often set the platform for some of India's famous wins during this period. Since his official comeback to the Test side in 2021, Rahul has cemented his place as one of India's first-choice openers and in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, he has already notched up two centuries and a fifty from six innings.
So, what exactly has changed? Former India men's coach Ravi Shastri has the answer. The veteran explained how a mix of technical and mental adjustments has revived Rahul's career.
“What I am seeing is a slight adjustment he's made with his front foot, in his stance and while defending,” Shastri said in the ICC Review.
“It just opened up a bit, which allows his back to come through cleanly. Even when he's hitting it towards mid-wicket, it's the full face of the blade. “He doesn't need to close the face of the blade, and fall over and get into trouble like he used to in the past. He would get out leg before, would get out bowled, he would get across too far and then be out leg before as well. He is sound technically, he has been as good as anyone. Especially, it's not moved a lot in the series, but when it's moved, he has had the game to look after that movement.”
With India in their transition phase as a Test side, Rahul is one of the side's senior players at the age of 33. He is also arguably at the peak phase of his career, at least in Tests and Shastri wants the right-hander to make the most of this purple patch.
“He's at his prime. He has got to make these next three, four years count,” Shastri said.
“And I see him getting a lot of hundreds because he's playing a lot of cricket in India as well. So whatever that average is, he should be close to 50.”
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