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Cricket PlayersSanjay Manjrekar hopes KL Rahul regains self-confidence during ODI series against England
Sanjay Manjrekar believes the three-match ODI series against England is a great opportunity for out-of-form KL Rahul to find back his form and more importantly, his self-confidence.
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes the ongoing three-match ODI series between India and England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune is a great opportunity for out-of-form KL Rahul to regain his self-confidence.
The 28-year-old had a poor run in the T20Is agianst England, where he registered figures of 1, 0, 0, and 14 in 4 T20Is, and was left out of the fifth T20I..
While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, cricketer-turned-commentator Manjrekar opined that Rahul has a tendency to get affected by "failures".
"KL Rahul is mentally, an enigma. My reading is that failures affect him much than some of the other players. He's got the class and he's got the talent and when he is playing well, he is riding that confidence. But a few failures, he suddenly loses his basic game," said Manjrekar.
He went on to add that this 50-over series is a great opportunity for the right-hander to regain self-confidence.
"50 overs will give you that time to come back into form. T20 cricket is ruthless. If you're out of form, it's a tough format to come back into form in the same format.
"Rishabh Pant, the whole of last season, remained out of form and this has happened to a lot of good players. So this will allow KL Rahul some time and allow him to get back some of his shots and self-confidence back. More than getting his form, it's about his getting his self-confidence back. The 50 overs, yes does allow you that, but with KL Rahul you just wait and see whether he uses this opportunity," he added.
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Before the start of the first ODI on Tuesday, Rahul's inclusion in the team doubtful. However, the management continues to persist with him by playing him as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
Rahul has scored 1332 runs in 35 ODI games at an average of 45.93. He has four centuries and eight fifties to his name in the format.
