Rahul loves to bat, spends at least six hours at nets, reveals coach Jairaj Muthu

Indian youngster KL Rahul lit up this year’s Indian Premier League with some scintillating performances with the bat for Kings XI Punjab as he tallied an staggering 659 runs from 14 matches. He was also instrumental in India’s first win in the T20I match against England which the visitors won riding on his quickfire ton.

Rahul’s childhood days coach, Jairaj Muthu, has revealed that it was no surprise that the boy from Mangalore has emerged as one of India’s greatest batting talents in recent years. Muthu spoke about Rahul’s obsession towards batting and how much he time he put into his training.

"Rahul loves to bat. There isn't anything which is closer to his heart than his batting. He doesn't spend anything less than six hours per day in the nets. Plus, whenever he is at home, his father gives him throwdowns. He is very committed. Batting means everything to him.

"Even when he is sleeping, if someone wakes him up at midnight and tells him to bat, he will. Even when he is informed in the nets about his last six deliveries, he will make it 10 and again ask for another round of bowling. He is very hungry," Muthu told TOI on Thursday. 

A string of injuries that kept Rahul out of the Indian team for a while forced the batsman to work on his game, revealed Muthu. He also added that Rahul was now capable of performing for the Indian team across all three formats of the game.

"International cricket is all about how you handle pressure and Rahul did a lot of mental preparation while recovering from his injuries. Injuries gave him time to think.

"From IPL onwards, he has decided not to play across the line, no matter what. He is also the best reverse sweep player, but he isn't playing that shot. He moves into the line of the ball and doesn't play away from the body," Jairaj added.