KL Rahul looking forward to the T20I series against South Africa

KL Rahul had a disappointing outing in the Tests on this tour to South Africa as he failed to cope with bounce and seam movement. His scores in the Test series (10, 4, 0 and 16) reflect his struggles against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel. The elegant right-hander is certainly disappointed with his under-par performance but is quietly confident of improving his skills to succeed in overseas conditions.

After a forgettable run in the Tests, the25-year-old is now bracing up for the three-match T20I series against the same opposition starting in Johannesburg on February 18. After returning back home while the rest of the team is playing the ODI series, Rahul played the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches representing his state side Karnataka where his struggles continued; he returned with scores of 3 and 22 in the last two outings.

“I’ve always looked at the positive side. When you are playing sport you know you will have more bad days than good days. You need to take things in your stride and try to learn something new and improve every day,” the Indian opener said.

You learn as you play

Rahul dubbed his lean patch as a learning curve. “You learn as you play. Ups and downs are part of your career. This is not exactly a down. I am playing well but not able to convert. I am not able to spend more time in the middle. I will find the answer soon. Maybe it takes just one good inning to get the conversion rate better. It doesn’t have to be a 150 but even a 50 can help me. I’ve been working hard on my fitness and game,” he added.

The 25-year-old also spoke about how pace with bounce and seam movement makes life difficult for openers. But, the good thing is that he is confident of making the necessary changes in his technique to solve the opening woes for the Indian team, especially in alien conditions.

Rahul, who leaves for South Africa on Thursday, seemed determined to prove his mettle in seamer-friendly conditions. “I was there for a month and I didn’t do much in the Test Series, so I’m looking forward to going there and getting some runs,” he asserted.

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