Nayar played a part in Rahul’s resurgence as a Test batter.
KL Rahul, who is the senior-most batter in the current Indian Test team after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirement, lived up to the expectations in the first Test against England at Headingley.
Rahul, who opened the innings for India, got off to a strong start in the first innings, but failed to capitalise, departing for 42 runs. However, he made his start count in the second essay by slamming a stunning hundred (137).
Now, former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has revealed that former skipper Rohit had asked him to bring out a ‘more aggressive outlook’ and the ‘best’ version of Rahul.
Nayar joined the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff as an assistant coach in July 2024. He was sacked after the team’s 3-0 whitewash in the home Test series against New Zealand, followed by 3-1 defeat to Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
During his eight-month tenure, Nayar mostly worked with batters and played a part in Rahul’s resurgence as a Test batter.
In the IPL 2025 season, Rahul acknowledged that the Mumbaikar had spent hours working on his game and helped him enjoy it again.
“When I first picked up that role, I remember I had a conversation with Rohit, and he said that one of the things he was really keen on me doing was working with KL and bringing out a more aggressive outlook to how KL played the game, and bringing the best out of him because he believed strongly that KL would play a major role in the Champions Trophy, World Cup and everything going forward including the BGT [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and the Tests in England," Nayar told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
“A coach has to be lucky. How lucky that in his first game in Australia he got runs in the second innings and in the first also he got a start. That gave him a bit of believability. There are times when the glue just sticks. That was the moment the glue stuck. He really enjoyed that knock. He told me, listen, I feel like I am just watching and playing. It’s music to me now, playing the sport,” Nayar added.
While Rahul failed to score a century on the tour of Australia, it helped him solidify his place at the top of the order.
“I remember we met someone, and he jokingly said, coach, you need to teach me how to score hundreds. And we were laughing in banter. I was like, dude, sometimes hundreds are just luck," Nayar recalled.
Rahul has now carried his consistency to England. Nayar explained why the Karanatak batter was unable to fulfill his potential before this phase.
“There is outside noise, there are expectations that one has from oneself, expectations that somehow over the years people and yourself, you infuse into your mind," Nayar said.
“So you start thinking this is what you need to do, and this is what you need to achieve, and people keep talking about your potential and your talent, and you keep adding more pressure saying that because everyone thinks I’m talented and because I have the potential, I need to live up to it, and those expectations sometimes weigh on you your shoulders, and those expectations sometimes really pull you down in a lot of ways and don’t let you be you. That was something that I think was one of those things that was holding him back," he remarked.