KL Rahul learns 'control' from past failures, willing to 'challenge' himself with any role

KL Rahul was facing a torrid time with the bat in Test cricket and it compelled the Indian team management to drop him for the side. He had scored a brilliant century against England at the Oval, but it could serve no purpose other than to showcase his capabilities as a batsman.

He was dropped from the side midway through the last tour of Australia in 2018-19 and could make a comeback only after Mayank Agarwal was concussed in the nets.

But now, having made a stellar comeback with the bat in Test cricket, Rahul has said that the time away from the action and repetitive failures helped him learn how to “control’ the urge to explore all the shots in his arsenal.

Speaking of the key to success in the longest format and what actually worked for him, Rahul pointed out that batsmen must be willing to “hold back” some of their shots to fight it out in tough conditions.

"I used to have a lot of thoughts in my mind. I felt I could play two or three different shots for every given ball in red-ball cricket, so that was something I realised, I had to learn to control,” Rahul said in a press interaction after the end of the third day’s play in Nottingham.

“Sometimes when the going gets tough or the wickets are challenging, playing against good bowlers when the ball is swinging, you have to hold back some of the shots, so those are the things, I tried to work on, or those were the learnings from when I was failing in Test cricket.”

He was delighted to be able to “go out there and show a lot of discipline” with the bat against the bowling attack comprising of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Sam Curran.

"I haven't got to play a lot of red-ball cricket but sitting outside, watching the games and watching batsmen score runs was good enough for me. I have been playing cricket, so the mental bit, like I said, in any format is it important that shot selection is spot on. I am happy that today I could go out there and show a lot of discipline, and get my team a good start and then put us in a good position."

The wicket at Trent Bridge has had enough for pace bowlers through all phases of the game, irrespective of the state of the ball but Rahul refused to rate the pitch as “unplayable”. Nevertheless,, he lamented the challenges of playing Anderson and Broad on a “good wicket”.

"It was a good wicket, I won't say it was unplayable, or anything, but having to play against the likes of Anderson, Broad in these conditions, is no batsman's dream, but I always wanted to," the India opener said.

Rahul was reminded that his return to the playing XI was only a result of injury to Mayank Agarwal and that he could well be shifted to the middle order in case the team management decides to go in with Agarwal in the second Test. 

A passionate Rahul downplayed those talks and pointed out his willingness to “challenge” himself by committing to fulfil many roles he has been asked to perform for the Indian side in the past.

"Look, if anything in the last two years I have learnt is that you need to be ready to do anything, I have been asked to do different roles, a lot of times and I quite enjoy doing it, so this was another opportunity for me to go out there and challenge myself," he said.

Rahul could not score a century but his 84 ensured India walked away with a first-innings lead after the failure of the middle order to take control of the game situation.

India were bowled out for 278 and England conceded a big lead of 95 runs. They will need the help of weather gods to turn the tide in the ongoing Test.