KL Rahul made an impressive comeback in Test cricket. After remaining on the sidelines for a couple of seasons, the right-handed batsman scored a well compiled 84 in the first innings of the first Test between England and India. He played attractive strokes and always kept the visitors in the game. His partnership with Rohit Sharma gave India a decent start, while he also stitched a much-needed partnership with Ravindra Jadeja.
With Shubman Gill ruled out of the series and Mayank Agarwal from the first Test, KL Rahul was asked to open the innings and he went on to justify his selection. Former India opener Virender Sehwag has praised Rahul for the way he crafted his innings.
“There are two types of mindset, you can make a comeback either in Rahul Dravid style, where you don’t play a shot at all and become extremely defensive, or you play aggressively in Sehwag style. Both are difficult, so you have to find your own way which is best for you,” Sehwag said during a discussion on Sony Sports Network.
“He said a very good thing that the improvement was caused by his shot selection. It is the most important thing, if your shot selection is good, the performance will surely happen. Virat Kohli is so consistent because his shot selection is very good. He knows which shots he can play and which he can’t. He sticks to that even after scoring a century.”
“So that is the line I liked the most in KL Rahul’s interview that he was looking to play too many shots earlier but in this innings, his shot selection was most impressive. He only played shots if the ball was pitched up or short, he either left or defended the good length deliveries,” he added.
“Sometimes there are small-small things that you need to pay attention to. So your friend or coach who has been seeing you for a long can tell you better, identifying that is very necessary. He has identified that now and he will go forward from here and not back,” Sehwag signed off.