From Kanpur Nets: Coach Gautam Gambhir works on KL Rahul’s technique against spinners

On Thursday, when Rahul switched nets to face the spinners, Gambhir immediately jogged down to have a closer look. Rahul, who in the first innings of the Chennai Test looked unsure about the length of deliveries and was caught at forward short leg, was once again troubled by the net bowlers.

It prompted Gambhir to gesture towards Rahul to use his feet. The next few balls, he stepped out of the crease and hit a few booming shots down the ground. The head coach then asked Rahul to play the forward defence and try using his wrists to get singles. There were a couple of bat-and-pad chances that could have easily gone to the short-leg fielder in the match. But in the next 10 minutes, Rahul seemed to master the task regally, and the reward was a pat on the back from the coach as he left the nets.

Since making his Test debut in 2014, Rahul is yet to touch the heights expected of him. Being tipped as a future captain, he now faces a stiff challenge for a place in the playing XI.

Over the years, Rahul has donned different hats. be it of an opener, No 5 batsman, and even played a Test series in South Africa as the specialist wicketkeeper. But now under Gambhir, he has been assigned the No 6 position.

Before getting injured earlier this year, the 32-year-old looked in glorious touch. After having an excellent ODI World Cup with both bat and gloves, he scored a regal 101 at Centurion, where the other Indian batsmen struggled. He made 86 and 22 against England in the first Test in Hyderabad, before missing the rest of the series due to a quadricep tendon injury.

However, Team India has kept faith in Rahul’s ability. In Chennai, it was captain Rohit Sharma, who backed him and in Kanpur, it was assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.

Kanpur: Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar addresses a press conference ahead of the 2nd cricket Test match between India and Bangladesh at the Green Park Stadium, in Kanpur, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (PTI Photo/Vijay Verma)

“Sometimes, it is just direction and I feel KL is someone who understands his game very well,” Nayar told reporters. “In South Africa, he played tremendous knocks. We are very hopeful with the kind of communication that Gautam has had and I have had with him that hopefully, we can have a turnaround in KL as well.”

Nayar said that Rahul showed glimpses of form during the first Test win against Bangladesh. He looked at his fluent best during his brief stay at the crease, scoring 22 off 19 balls.

“The way he was batting in the second innings is the kind of cricket we are expecting and hoping for,” Nayar said. “I am pretty sure going forward you will see more such performances from him.”

Pratyush Raj is a sports journalist with The Indian Express Group and specializes in breaking news stories and conducting in-depth investigative reports for the paper. His passion extends to crafting engaging content for the newspaper’s website. Pratyush takes a keen interest in writing on cricket and hockey. He started his career with the financial daily Business Standard but soon followed his true calling as Times of India’s sports reporter for Punjab in Chandigarh, a job that required extensive travel to states such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. He has also contributed to the sports coverage of India Today Group. Pratyush’s love for sports blossomed during his upbringing in flood-prone Saharsa, a district in North Bihar, where ‘Cricket Samrat’ was his cherished companion.  … Read More