India opener KL Rahul is enduring a tough time in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. The right-hander has registered scores of 4 and 9 in India’s first two Super 12 fixtures against Pakistan and Netherlands, respectively.
More than the lack of runs, Rahul has looked tentative and unconfident in his two outings so far. No wonder, questions are being raised over his place in the playing XI as fans and experts want Rishabh Pant to replace him at the top.
Amid the hue and cry, India batting coach Vikram Rathour on Saturday (October 29) made it clear that they won’t drop Rahul on the basis of two bad innings.
“No. We aren’t really not thinking about that,” Rathour told reporters on the eve of India’s Super 12 game against South Africa at Perth.
“I don’t think that’s a good enough sample size anyway. He’s been batting really well and also batted well in practice games. So we aren’t changing anything,” he added.
While Rishabh Pant has established himself as India’s leading glovesman in Tests and ODIs, he is competing for the wicketkeeper-batter slot with Dinesh Karthik in the shortest format of the game.
Since Karthik has done a good job as a designated finisher lately, it is tough for Pant to break into the playing XI currently.
"Only 11 can play unfortunately and I know and understand Rishabh is a fantastic player and we know he can be destructive against any opposition," said Rathour.
"The message to him is be ready and your chance might come anytime. He should be mentally and physically ready. He is doing that and you might have seen him practicing regularly. I am sure he will be ready whenever opportunity comes," he further remarked.
When asked about why Rahul has a cautious approach in the powerplay compared to Rohit Sharma, the batting coach replied: "Every player has his own way of playing and constituting their innings. A good partnership is one where each one complement each other. If Rahul is in good form then he can also be the aggressor."
He also said that there is no conscious pattern to Virat Kohli's approach.
"Not really. It depends on conditions and we pride on being a team that adapts to conditions. He (Kohli) is a good enough to change his game as per conditions. He has done that brilliantly and we expect him to keep doing that," he stated.
According to Vikram Rathour, there won't be too many 200 plus scores in this T20 World Cup.
"Playing with intent is the goal. Looking to score runs but we are looking to adapt as well as per conditions. I don't think these are 200 plus wickets so we will need to adapt," Rathour said.
(With PTI inputs)
