New Delhi: Team India batter KL Rahul said he is willing to bat at any position for the Indian team and utilise his experience in whatever role he is asked to perform for the team ahead of the 2nd Test against Australia in Adelaide. There has been an intense debate over whether Rahul should be allowed to continue opening the batting after his stellar show in the 1st Test in Perth.
Rahul stepped up to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the 1st Test in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma. The prolific right-hander slammed a brilliant half-century and combined with Jaiswal to post a record opening stand of 201 runs to help India register a dominant 295-run victory. Rahul scored a sublime 77 while Jaiswal stole the show with his brilliant 161-run knock.
After the terrific show from Rahul and Jaiswal in Perth, there have been calls to continue with the same pair in the Adelaide Test despite Rohit’s return. With Shubman Gill also set to return, it remains to be seen if Rahul will be backed as an opener or will be asked to slot back at no.5. When asked about his preferred batting position, Rahul said he is open to performing any role for the team.
“I just want to be in the playing XI, go out there and bat and play for the team. I just go there and try and see what I need to do to get runs in a particular situation. Luckily I have batted in different positions,” Rahul said at the pre-match press conference ahead of the 2nd Test on Wednesday.
“Early on, when I was asked to bat at different positions, it was a bit of a challenge mentally. How to play those first 20-25 balls? how early can I attack? Those things were a problem earlier, but it has gotten easy with the experience of playing in different formats,” he added.
Rahul remains coy on batting position
Rahul remained coy about his batting position for the Adelaide Test against Australia when asked about the same by a reporter. The Indian batter said he has already been told what position he will have to bat at but has also been asked not to share it with the media in the press conference. The batter also revealed he was told about opening the innings in the Perth Test quite early and got enough time to prepare himself for the role.
Rahul was batting in the middle order for India in their home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand before being dropped. However, he was promoted as an opener in the absence of skipper Rohit in the series opener against Australia in Perth. India are currently 1-0 up in the five-match series and will lock horns with the visitors in the 2nd Test, a day-night contest starting Friday, December 06.
Team India batter KL Rahul opened up on his batting position in the pre-match press conference ahead of the 2nd Test against Australia in Adelaide in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
