IND vs AUS | KL Rahul has learnt to channelize his thoughts per demand, reckons Zaheer Khan

He was used as a No.4 at the World Cup, before being pushed up top alongside Rohit Sharma when Shikhar Dhawan got injured. In the first game against Australia, Rahul was asked to bat No.3, before being moved down to No.5 for the very next game. However, the Karnataka man has worked his way through and has remained consistent across the two white-ball formats for India — something Zaheer simply puts down to the fact that Rahul finally accepting his role in the side.

“I think he’s finally come to terms with that. It’s been a journey for him. If you ask him, he’ll say that earlier he had shown resistance to that. At times you just want to be in your comfort zone. Being an opener is his comfort zone and he’s still sticking to that. But what, I think, he has learned to channelize thoughts into saying, ‘If I’m batting at 4, how can I approach it?’. I think he has tried to find those answers,” Zaheer said on Cricbuzz Live. 

The former fast bowler also pointed out the adverse effects of focusing too much on what is beyond a player’s control. Zaheer also lauded Rahul's efforts in watching other great middle-order players and drafting some of their ideas onto his own playing style.

“It has helped him just focus on the right things and control the controllable. And that’s what he was trying to express there, saying that he’s analyzed other batsman, understood what his batting style is and how he can do similar things to achieve consistency. Earlier you can get frustrated or focus too much on the things which are not in your control. If you are batting at a different position, and you are thinking about your best position, that is going to affect the preparation,” he added.