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Cricket Players'We can call this KL Rahul 2.0': Chopra dissects the rise of India opener, pinpoints reason behind his turnaround
Rahul has fared exceptionally well with the bat in SA, having scored 204 runs including a century in the two Test matches so far.
KL Rahul seems to have a purple patch. The 29-year-old Test opener, also the ODI skipper for India's three-match ODI assignment in South Africa, has fared exceptionally well with the bat, having scored 204 runs including a century in the two Test matches so far.
In Rohit Sharma's absence at the top, Rahul and his ally Mayank Agarwal have been steady in the opening mix. Last year, Rahul was handed a lifeline in England and he came out all guns blazing to make 84 and 26 in the first at Trent Bridge and a magnificent century in the first innings at the Lord's. His appointment as the team's leader also means that the all-format player is being looked at as the long-term leader in the future.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra is all praise for Rahul, who has recently witnessed a remarkable turnaround in his Test career. Chopra said the right-handed dasher has "happy to bid his time" after knowing where his off-stump is.
"We can, of course, call this KL Rahul 2.0. The difference, in my opinion, is the mindset or the comfort that this is how I am going to play. It takes time because the players of this era, they play all three formats, it is very difficult to understand the right template for every format.
"There is a temptation to play the big shots because you can play those. But the KL Rahul we were seeing at this point, he has such a good idea about his off-stump, where to play the deliveries and how many deliveries to leave. He is happy to bide his time," Chopra said on the Star Sports show Follow the Blues.
Widely considered among India's highly-rated opening batters, Rahul was in great touch in England where he mustered 315 runs in eight innings. Since his debut in Test cricket back in 2014, he has got 2525 runs in the format including six overseas hundreds to his name.
Rahul has also tasted success as a batter while leading Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Chopra feels the opener has now got a fair idea of his skillset.
"That's remarkable for someone who, when he plays T20 cricket, has the ability to hit fours and sixes off every delivery. But he is defending or leaving the same deliveries and he is looking very compact.
"The biggest change, in my opinion, he has done is to be comfortable in his own skin. Once you understand your game properly, you are not in a hurry because you are very confident. We saw the same thing with Rohit Sharma, if you see his England tour," concluded Chopra.
