Nobody natural enough, everybody works hard, says KL Rahul
KL Rahul has stated that no player is natural enough and everyone needs to work hard, specifically referring to the hook shot which he plays well. The batsman, who struck a fluent century against Bangladesh in the second warm-up match, will likely start at the number four position in the World Cup.
KL Rahul is no doubt a talented batsman and looks elegant while batting, especially when he hits the pulls shot against pacers. Nevertheless, he feels that everybody has to work hard and the same applies for his pull shot too. The Karnataka batsman also went on to say that a batsman cannot gain continued success at the international level without innovating his game constantly.
“Nobody is natural enough, everybody has to work hard. Obviously gifted with certain skills, some people are gifted with timing, some people are gifted with picking the length and line early. Growing up, I played on matting wickets. I always enjoyed the pace and bounce and somewhere that has a big role or big effect on your game,” he said in an interview, reported Indian Express.
"Mostly, the dynamic side of my game is hitting the ball for sixes, reverse-sweep, scoop, which is so important to have in your game right now. The bowlers know my strength now, so they will never bowl in that area. Bowlers will keep bowling in the area where you are uncomfortable. So one has to keep coming up with new shots, new ways to tackle bowlers. Last 4-5 years, I have worked on it. I have practised for it, be it scoop shot, coming in line of the ball and flicking it. It is important to have a 360-degree game now,” the 27-year-old explained.
Rahul had a fantastic run for Kings XI Punjab in this year’s Indian Premier League as he blasted 593 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 135.58. In the previous edition, the right-hander had amassed 659 runs in the same number of innings and at a higher strike rate of 158.41. He looked to attack from the very first ball in the previous season whereas he took his time to settle down in this season. The batsman reckoned that he was looking to play a longer innings in every match this time.
“I gained a lot of experience by playing a lot of T20 cricket last year. I know my game very well now. I knew where exactly the areas are where I needed to improve. I have tried to bring in that aspect of the game which will help the team I’m playing for. It could be for India, the IPL franchise or my state. You realise that in any successful team, one of the top three will play 20 overs, or bulk of the overs, which is very important. If you are batting with someone like Chris Gayle or Mayank Agarwal, who are so explosive, you can be conservative to start off. I know I can go from a 120 strike rate to a 160 strike rate quickly,” he explained.
Rahul seems to be India’s number four for this World Cup, especially after scoring 108 runs in 99 balls in the warm-up. He opens in the shortest as well as the longest format but will have to settle in the middle order in this tournament. He feels that he is smart enough to adapt his game accordingly.
"I honestly will not know what to do till I play games and also believe that I’m smart enough and have played enough international cricket that I can figure out quickly what I need to do in a certain format to be successful and be more consistent. Whenever the opportunity comes, basically for me the key is to keep things simple. Be it batting at three or four or any place, I can’t plan too much. Every ball is an event, especially in white-ball cricket. You have to see the ball, see the scoreboard, assess the situation and decide the best game-plan. That’s been my learning from the last few years to understand how to come up with a good plan on that particular day and in those conditions. That is what great players and more successful players have done in white-ball cricket,” he asserted.
Lastly, Rahul was confident of India, who will play against South Africa tomorrow, doing well in the ten-nation tournament.
“We all are positive, everybody in the IPL was in very good form and we had a great run with the Indian team in the last two-three years. The team is looking good and everybody is confident. Everybody is backing us to do well in the World Cup. We need to go there and enjoy ourselves. The energy will be surely high so will the expectations from the whole country,” he signed off.
