Team India’s opener KL Rahul’s form has been the talking point for the last few games. He had a decent 2022 T20 World Cup for India, but couldn’t perform in big games. The right-handed batter got dismissed for a single-digit score against England on Thursday, November 10 at the Adelaide Oval in the semi-final of the tournament. Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has questioned KL Rahul’s mental toughness, after India’s embarrassing loss in the semi-final against England.
KL Rahul started off the 2022 T20 World Cup on a disastrous note, with three single-digit scores in as many games. He made a decent comeback, slamming a couple of half-centuries against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. However, the right-hander once again failed to score runs in the big game against England.
Speaking about KL Rahul’s performance on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan expressed,
“He started badly. After that, when he scored two half-centuries, they definitely came against teams where you expect runs, I felt another half-century was about to come, the form is about to come. But this has been a problem with KL Rahul for a long time.”
When it comes to being tough on the mental front, KL Rahul doesn’t back himself: Irfan Pathan
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan further expressed that KL Rahul does not back himself on the mental front. He also spoke about the openers’ strike rate in T20Is. Irfan added that KL Rahul’s lack of confidence has translated into his poor performance. He said,
“When you watch him bat, you feel he is technically fantastic, but I feel when it comes to being tough on the mental front, he doesn’t back himself there. We have spoken about his strike rate earlier.”
“When he comes back from injury, his initial movement is probably late. Here also both his feet were in the air. If he wanted, he could have given himself room and played the cut shot. He has all the ability against both pace and spin but if you are slightly soft at the top, it makes a huge impact on your cricket,” he added.
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