Shifting up and down the order, K.L. Rahul has adapted rather well to his role as opener in ODIs. It is not as if the position is strange to him as the lanky batsman does take first strike in Tests and for his home State Karnataka. But in the blue shade, he had to slot himself in the middle-order as Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan forged an explosive partnership atop the batting tree.
Dhawan’s thumb injury paved the way for Rahul’s elevation to the top and subsequently he etched scores of 57, 30, 48, 0, 77 against Pakistan, Afghanistan, the West Indies, England and Bangladesh respectively in the current World Cup. The cricketer interacted with the media in the ICC’s mixed zone at Edgbaston here on Tuesday night. Excerpts:
The starts: I have been batting well and I am playing the role to the best of my ability. I am a little disappointed that I can’t carry on. When I speak about converting starts, it means batting deeper till 35 or 45 overs. In conditions like this, the set batsman can do the most damage. If I keep learning from each innings, I will get there eventually.
Missing link: It will be great to score big runs and every batsman wants to do that. I am in a good head-space. I just want to keep doing the things I have been doing right and if I can prolong it, then obviously I will get a big score and it will benefit the team.
Rohit the Superman: You would be a fool if you get tempted to bat like him because he is in a different class. He is from a different planet, especially when he gets going. He made it look really easy (against Bangladesh) but the pitch was two-paced and the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat. He is in good form but to keep putting up those performances is special. He takes the pressure off you, keeps the scoreboard ticking and it is great fun to bat with him.
