India opener KL Rahul on his coming of age as a batsman, the methods that have brought him success, and learning from Virat Kohli
Interview by Gaurav Kalra14-Sep-201617:13
‘Enjoy the challenge of playing all three formats’ – Rahul
Where has all the hair gone?
It’s at home! I gave some of it to my mother. I had it for a long time. I thought I needed a change, so…I read a story somewhere that the hair was for a reason. Apparently your coach told you that you can have the long hair after certain things are achieved. Is that correct?
It is just a general thing that every coach in India says. If he sees a player who is interested in being stylish, is adventurous and wants to play with his hair, he will always tell you, “Play for India and then you do whatever you want.” That wasn’t why I grew my hair. I just had a lot of time on my hands after the South Africa series last year till the IPL. I had six to eight months at home, so it was easy for me to take care of it. I always wanted to grow long hair, so I grew it for some time. It might grow back again, but I am not sure.The last time I spoke to you, you were just returning from illness. You must be very pleased with how the last few months have gone.
Yes, I am really happy with the results I have achieved. Seeing the results of all the hard work I’ve put in for the last five-six years is extremely satisfying. The way I have played, the approach and the attitude I have had in the last six-eight months is what pleases me more than anything else. Even if I hadn’t gotten the same results, I would have still been happy because I’m enjoying myself and [I’m] going out into the field with the same amount of commitment and focus. I am enjoying the challenges that are coming my way, the responsibility of batting up the order. In the Test matches when the team is batting with just six batsmen, you know you have to deliver.You haven’t played a Test or any international at home. There’s a big home season coming. How eagerly are you looking forward to it?
I am really excited about coming back to India and playing some international games. I have been part of Test teams that have played in India before but haven’t got a chance in the XI. I am really hungry to do well in India, I have played here all my life. I feel like I know the conditions well, but you never know. It can be different when you play international cricket, and I understand that. I am really keen to go out there and start well in the first Test in Kanpur.
“I never plan or have targets. It only limits you from achieving what you can”
A long season and a lot of Test cricket is part of it. You have done well in long-form cricket. You’ve made runs every time you have had an opportunity.
I quite enjoy playing the longer format. I’m not saying I enjoy T20 or 50-over formats any less, but each format challenges you differently. I have been very consistent in domestic cricket and I hope I can continue with the same form in international cricket as well. I look to keep things simple irrespective of the format. I look to play my shots. I will play proper cricketing shots, but if the ball is there to be hit, I will hit it. That is something that won’t change with any format. With competitive and quality sides coming in the next six-eight months, it will be a big challenge, and if I can keep things simple and have the same attitude and approach as the last six months, I think I’ll do better. I have learnt a lot from the series in the West Indies and Sri Lanka a year ago. I have learnt a lot sitting outside and watching people play. The likes of [M] Vijay, Virat [Kohli] and Ajinkya [Rahane] – how they have been successful in Test cricket, I have learnt a lot from sitting in the dressing room. I am eager to go out there and perform like they have in the last few years, and the home series should be a big challenge.There is a lot of talk that your generation of players doesn’t really appreciate Test cricket as much as the newer, faster forms. Is that just talk on the outside? From your point of view, how important is Test cricket?
I can’t talk for anybody else, things like this don’t really affect me. Like I said, I like playing all three formats – they all challenge you differently and I am someone who enjoys the challenges. Having to play Test matches for a month and then switch to T20s in five days is not easy, but that’s the kind of challenge I love to face. I respect Test cricket a lot. I wanted to play Test cricket. My coaches and my dad always thought I should look at playing Test cricket. That was my focus initially. Once I got into the Test team I learnt so much about international cricket and realised it’s not so different. If you keep it simple and play cricketing shots you can be successful. Luckily for me, the IPL helped this year. I realised I could play all three formats, and I feel a lot more confident now.”This year’s IPL was the key moment for me to start believing in myself and my shorter-format abilities”•BCCISince you mention the IPL, one of the big revelations this season was your ability to hit the big shot. Was there a moment when you said, “I’ve got to get this right”? Can you talk us through how you got to this point?
There was no one moment. It was hard work for the last four-five years. I always thought of becoming a better short-format player and I thought hitting sixes would also help me in Test cricket. It is important to put the spinners off when they come in to bowl, especially for me as an opening batsman. If I can put them under pressure, it will make life easier for the batsmen coming in. I realised that three-four years ago and started working on my six-hitting and paid a lot of importance to my fitness. I wanted to get a lot stronger, fitter, quicker, because I knew that would help me in all three formats and prolong my career. I started paying more attention to things like fitness and nutrition and it has been helping me a lot.You unveiled this six-hitting in a sense at this IPL. Did you come into the tournament knowing that this part of your game was in better shape than it’s ever been?
Of course. This year’s IPL was the key moment for me to start believing in myself and my shorter-format abilities. Once people saw it they started believing it too. I think it is very important when your own team-mates start believing that you have the game. I showed them that in the IPL, where you have your own team-mates backing you and you have a leader like Virat Kohli, who is always inspiring you to get better and who believes in you. It was important I got a few good innings under my belt. I always knew I could play the shorter format but it was about putting a few performances there. A couple of good innings and I knew I will start believing a lot more in myself, so yes, it worked out well for me this summer.Is Virat someone you have modelled yourself on, not just from the batting point of view but also from things off the pitch in terms of fitness and preparation?
Yes, I think I have. He is such an inspiration. We feel lucky that we don’t have to look too far. The guy who inspires you is sitting right next to you in the dressing room. The level of commitment that he has shown, the discipline and work ethic, the way he has been so disciplined with his fitness, nutrition and diet – that is something that has inspired all of us. If you come into the dressing room now you can see how all the boys are so disciplined. He’s helped me in shaping my career. When I came into Test cricket, I was good but not as good as I am now. Virat has helped me with my preparation, mindset, and he has given me a lot of confidence.
“The level of commitment Virat has shown, the discipline and work ethic, the way he has been so disciplined with his fitness, nutrition and diet, that is something that has inspired all of us”
Anil Kumble was very appreciative of you getting a hundred in a Test match and then playing a very different innings in the T20 in Florida. Can you talk us through the mental process for these adjustments?
It is really strange, but there is no mental switch that I make. If you saw the innings in St Lucia, I got a 50 in 56 balls or something opening the innings when the ball was doing a little bit. I try to keep things very simple. I go into the field, try to assess the pitch and the situation, see what are the best shots I can play and what is the best approach to have on that day. In Florida, obviously we had to chase a big target so it was very clear in my head that I need to have a good start from ball one. We knew the wicket was good, I got a few boundaries away and I was feeling good. I wanted to do the same thing, play cricketing shots and not worry too much about the score or the results. I just wanted to see how well I could read the bowlers mind and how well I could hit the ball.So you are saying a lot of this is talk on the outside? A Test match or a one-day game or a T20 situation, from a players’ point of view is a lot simpler than it is made out to be?
It is as simple as you make it out to be. There’s not a lot I change in my game. If the ball is there to be hit, I will hit it. Obviously with Test matches, the ball swings a lot more and it swings for longer, so if you see the ball moving you will obviously be a little more conscious. With the white ball, if you’ve played a few overs, there’s not a lot that happens so you feel more confident, you see bigger gaps, the fielders are on the boundary, so you can push your ones and twos. Once you get 15-20, you feel more confident about going over the top. That is what I have stuck to doing and its worked well for me so far.Your training is that of an opener. What sort of adjustment have you had to make when you are pushed lower down the order?
Again, it is how you look at it. I have always been someone who hasn’t had big plans walking in. I play a couple of balls, then see what the situation demands of me – the roles and responsibilities I have and what are the shots I can play. Whenever I have walked in, the team needed me to do well and I have kind of enjoyed that pressure. In the modern game, you have to be flexible with whatever the team needs you to do.”There’s not a lot I change in my game. If the ball is there to be hit I will hit it”•BCCIIn Florida, the partnership with MS Dhoni was the high point. There was a serenity in the way you guys approached the target. Can you talk us through that partnership?
I felt a lot more comfortable when he walked in knowing he is the greatest finisher in world cricket. I knew he would come up with something special. When he walked in we still had eight-nine overs. He told me “we need to run our runs hard and we can go after the bowling when there’s five overs left”. Luckily we both were in good form. He was striking the ball well from ball one and I already had 50. The boundaries were coming, we were getting 12-13 runs an over without taking risks. We didn’t plan too much or let the situation get to us or worry about the score. We were matching up to the required rate every over. We just tried to take it as deep as we could and we did quite well till the final over. All credit to [Dwayne] Bravo as well, he bowled a really good last over. I don’t think if it happens again we will do the same mistakes as we did in the Florida game. We will be better the next time.You are now one of only three Indians with an international hundred in all formats. Do you think about milestones?
I just go out there and bat, milestones and numbers have never been important to me. I always want to win games for my team wherever I play. So even the hundred in Florida is not as satisfying because we didn’t win. For me, it is more important to give my team a good start, provide a cushion to get the opposition out twice, if it is a Test match. If it is a one-dayer, have the luxury of runs so that the bowlers can bowl with a free mind. That is what is more important to me. I never plan or have targets. It only limits you from achieving what you can. I always go there to play the situation, keep things simple. That way you won’t put pressure on yourself, you will enjoy cricket more, you will be focused on one ball at a time and that is the best space a batsman can be in.One aspect of your cricket we haven’t seen much of late is wicketkeeping. Do you still focus on that?
I do carry the keeping gloves, because you never know. I had to keep for an innings in Sri Lanka. I try to keep myself ready, try to keep in touch because you never know when the gloves can be thrown at you, and when you are expected to do a job. When I am expected to do something and I don’t I feel really bad, I like to be prepared. So I try to work on my wicketkeeping.You may in the future be asked to do the job not just in ODIs and T20s but maybe even Test matches. Are you ready for anything?
I know this challenge can be thrown at me, that’s why I have started working a lot harder on my fitness because keeping will demand a different sort of fitness. If I have to keep and bat, it will take a lot out of my body. So I have started to train harder and focus on eating right and whatever helps recover my body, I am trying to take care of that. It helps to have great support staff to look after you, they guide as well. I am sure the gloves will come on at some point. I will be ready and I will enjoy that too.