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Speaking ahead of the crucial pink-ball Test against Australia, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul hinted on his batting position while confirming his participation. KL Rahul, who opened in the first Test against Australia in Perth in absence of skipper Rohit Sharma, had a decent run in the middle, registering scores of 26 and 77 in the two innings respectively.
But with the pink-ball Test next in line in the ongoing five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series, KL Rahul expressed his readiness to adapt to any batting position in the line-up. Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Adelaide, KL Rahul reaffirmed his commitment to contribute with the bat whenever put on it.
Anything, opening or middle order: KL Rahul hints at his batting position in day-night Test in Adelaide
Speaking ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide on Wednesday, December 4, KL not only confirmed his participation in the upcoming match but also hinted at his batting position. When asked about the inevitable question about his batting position, KL replied, “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. I have batted in many positions,” he continued. “Earlier it was a bit of a challenge, not technically but mentally about how to play those first 20-25 ball. 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,” he further added.
"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," the wicketkeeper-batter concluded. It is to be noted that KL Rahul began his Test career in Australia a decade ago as a middle-order batter before transitioning to an opener. In 54 Test matches, the 32-year-old has amassed 3084 runs at an average of 34.26 and strike rate of 52.56.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
