The peace you feel when watching KL Rahul Bat, especially in the ongoing series of England, is something else. During the 3rd day of the Lord’s test, it seemed that Rahul could not have done his leg badly. He just continued, maintained the result table ticking with several fantastic shots and introduced his quick thinking.
It wasn’t the case a few years ago, when Rahul continued in and out of the side, playing different roles – sometimes upstairs, sometimes stirring around the order. He was an Indian useful man. But on this new view of the Indian party, Rahul was reinstalled at the top-some of what he always wanted and longed for. After all, he excelled here when he scored 3,139 runs as an opener.
England vs. India 3. Test day 3. Day: the most important
“I’m glad I launched at the top of the order and I always enjoyed launching at the top of the order. I always launched there in my junior cricket and all my early days. I always launched to the top of the order.
And this consistency, this feeling of strength, did not come out of blue. Rahul, now 33, has invested in mental training – usually seen in the Formula 1 world. It is an area he identified as a key, and the results are beginning to manifest.
“I’ve been working on several mental exercises in the last few years.
“I think many other sports use it. I saw it quite a lot in Formula 1. I picked it up from one of the guys I worked with in Salzburg. I’m closely associated with Red Bull, so I had the opportunity to go there and work with some coaches working with elite Formula One Guys and other adventure sports people.”
What does Rahul special on this Indian side?
Underestimated?
This is a word that one could connect with Rahul. He has been visible in recent months, but he managed to stay away from the constant chatting of the media. It is far from his early years, when every movement was under the scanner.
Now is the silent authority about him – something even sung gavascar recognized after 3 days. The Indian legend believed that Rahul’s hundreds at Lord were “incredible”.
“It is probably one of the most underestimated crickets, also undervalued, and here is his other 100 here in Lords. So this is a country he will remember with great kindness. And sometimes I think it was incredible. The century happened about 3-4 years ago.
Team glue
For Rahul, his current role goes beyond running and statistics. He became a party glue, someone who connects many moving parts of this Indian team. Outside the field is equally impressive. During the first test, Rahul mentioned that he kept his door open to young people to come and chat, a sign of a mentor role he gradually accepts.
Gavascar also appreciated this party and called him the strength of the team.
“It’s the power of this Indian team. I know that SHUBMAN has a lot of runs. Rishabh Pant also has a lot of runs. But it’s a rhul who is glue. It’s glue because he’s an older player.”
“You can feel the post that brings in the room for change, not just on the pitch. Because of his experience with the fact that he had played in England before, he knows that there will be situations where the ball moves a bit. Whether he has his teammates, whether it is the small exchanges with his teammates.
“The experience, you know, you can’t buy for love or money, the experience of playing there. And I’m pretty sure, because he’s a team man to the core. After all, when he was asked to keep the goals, he was glad to hold the goals for India.
Work is far from finished for India near Lord. They still have a goal to chase and complex sessions ahead. But with Kl Rahul upstairs, they will feel calm into any crisis. The Karnataka dough has indeed become an Indian rock – a solid, unsurpassed and quietly brilliant.
– ends
Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
13th July 2025
