Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar lauded opening batter KL Rahul's efforts with the bat in hand against England. The senior pro, who came into the five-match tour as the most experienced top six batter, proved why he was rated highly by finishing the series with 532 runs with an average of 53.20 in five matches. Nayar also stated that the opening batter deserved all the praise that came his way as he trained every minute after his last IPL game.
Not only has Rahul left the ball well, but he has also managed to give India solid starts up front in the company of the attacking opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The right-hand batter has done the 'dirty job' of taking the sheen of the ball very well and made every opportunity count.
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“I can’t talk about the changes that I’ve seen in KL Rahul. I can’t, because then it’s out there, and the effectiveness goes down a lot. All I can say is that, whatever the changes are, they have really worked. Sometimes — (and) I always say in a cricketer’s journey and a team’s journey — things need to click. You need a bit of the rub of the green. I think he’s had that as well,” Nayar told PTI.
KL Rahul's meticulous work pays off for England tour: Abhishek Nayar
“He has worked very, very hard. There are very, very few people who know that after the birth of his child, he was in the IPL, and he came back immediately. He started preparing for the (England) Test series while a lot of people wouldn’t have done that. He knew the importance of this series; he understood it. And every minute post the last game that he played in the IPL, was about how he can do well in this Test series, so it’s great to see him do well there and get the recognition that he rightly deserves being the guy who’s done all the dirty jobs and still managed to perform at every every number in that batting order,” Nayar, now the head coach of WPL side UP Warriorz added.
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Rahul finished the England series as the second leading run-getter for India with the bat in hand behind Shubman Gill's 754 runs. The opener scored two centuries and two fifties.
