India's opener KL Rahul will take the field against South Africa as a vice-captain after Rohit Sharma got injured ahead of the tour. Rohit had taken over the role replacing Ajinkya Rahane, but he suffered a left hamstring injury.
Rahul, in a chat with his friend and teammate Mayank Agarwal, spoke regarding the new role and his Test career ahead of the opening match. The India batter said he was doubtful of playing Test cricket again a year ago.
The 29-year-old had last played a Test series in 2019 against West Indies before featuring on the England tour earlier this year. He made a decent comeback and scored 315 runs in 8 innings with an average of 39.38, which included a century.
"Before 6-7 months or a year ago, I never thought I would get to play Test cricket again. Things changed quickly and I am very happy and grateful for such a huge responsibility is given to me as vice-captain for this tour. I am looking forward to giving my best," Rahul said in a video shared by the BCCI.
ALSO READ: SA v IND 2021-22: Salman Butt feels KL Rahul can be India's Test captain in future
"I have bitter-sweet memories from Boxing Day. I debuted on a Boxing Day Test in Australia, but that did not go well. I lost my position again. I felt that's the end for me. I think I have become more balanced in my approach to the game. I have changed a lot from how I used to play in 2014 when I made my debut and in 2018," he further said.
Mayank poked fun at Rahul and questioned him about his grey hair with the new responsibility in the team. To which, Rahul said he noticed his grey hair while leading the Indian Premier League franchise, Punjab Kings.
"I've started getting a few.. but that's from IPL captaincy and not the responsibility here. But I'm happy to get such a responsibility and it's an honor to be the vice-captain of the Indian team. Anyone would take that and no one would worry about the grey hair," he said.
Team India is touring South Africa for the first time under the newly appointed head coach Rahul Dravid. The India opener praised the coach for sharing his experience with them which helped the team prepare for challenges on an important South Africa tour.
"Having Dravid with us this time is very helpful. He's played a lot of cricket here and scored a lot of runs too. He's got a lot of experiences to share and he's helping us to prepare the best way we can. That's a big boost for us."
Rahul also spoke about the nature of South African pitches which have extra bounce and it will require a lot of patience before scoring freely. "South African pitches have a spongy bounce.. especially here in Centurion. You have got to be a lot more patient.
"We all know what kind of bowling attack South Africa have. It's a country where you really enjoy batting once you get used to the pace and bounce. For openers, those first 30-35 overs with the new ball will be tested. We need to be patient and leave balls outside off stump, and know which balls to score against," he said.
(With BCCI.tv Inputs)
