–Boria Majumdar
KL Rahul is talented. And he is committed. Perhaps a tad too much on occasions. Does that end up putting more pressure on him than he can cope with? Is that a reason behind his inconsistency? For with him, dedication and hard work was never an issue.
Sample this- The Indian team had just finished their fielding drills and left for the batting nets, which were located just outside the Old Trafford ground on the eve of the Pakistan game in the 2019 world cup. Only a few of the support staff were still there clearing out the equipment and trying to ensure everything was in order. That’s when I noticed him standing alone just looking at the pitch, which was under covers with all the rain around. He seemed all to himself and somewhat lost in thought. As he was doing some stretching, you could sense a very different purpose in his body language. KL Rahul, clearly, was ready. As the two of us made eye contact and waved to each other in acknowledgement, one could sense he was as focussed as he could ever be. This was his chance at redemption and set things right once and for all. In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, KL had to step up against Pakistan on a cloudy morning and in conditions that favoured Mohammed Amir and Wahab Riaz. The start was the key to India’s fortunes and KL needed to give Rohit every support possible and lay a strong foundation for his captain. He did just that and set the match up for India. In fact, the way he left the ball in the first over itself was a statement.
He is one of the few to score 500 plus runs in many IPL seasons with an average of 50 plus in each.
And yet it isn’t easy being KL Rahul at the moment. Left out of the Test team after a string of underwhelming performances, much was said about KL being given a long rope. With Shreyas out, there is every reason to think he is India’s best bet to keep wickets and bat in the middle order in the WTC final. Captaining the team, keeping wickets, there is not a thing he can’t do. And yet he isn’t at his best.
Is it a problem in the mind? Does he put too much pressure on himself? Are his own expectations of himself sometimes a bit too much to handle? Is KL finding it hard to cope with pressure?
We don’t have answers to any of these questions just yet. And KL, understandably, won’t open up on any of it. And yet from the outside you want to ask if he is in a happy mental space. A man of such talent, why is he playing within himself on occasions? Is there a fear of failure he is playing under?
LSG to succeed will need a KL Rahul in full flow. With Kyle Mayers starting out like a dream and with Quinton De Kock all set to join the ranks, KL could well decide to go down to number 3 and anchor the innings. With Mayers and Quinton you are assured of an explosive start more often than not and it should give KL a little more time to settle in. Even if he opens and gets Quinton at 3, Rahul should just back himself to bat long and bat deep. It is a team full of talent so there will always be pressure of expectations. That’s what Rahul needs to win against. He is his own opponent for with his talent, he will succeed more often than not. All he needs to do is conquer the mental demons and he could soon be in full flow.
Can he power on from here and script the most dramatic season for LSG? Can KL Rahul finally do justice to the potential that we always knew he had both as leader and batsman? For LSG fans, KL Rahul is penning his own story. And needless to say his is a story of survival. Someone who has the talent now has to shed the tag of negativity and do his country and franchise proud every single time he is there in the middle. Can there be bigger redemption for Rahul? Perhaps not and truth be told he knows it better than anyone.