I knew I was blessed with certain skills: KL Rahul

After having made a sparkling debut for India in Tests, KL Rahul had to wait for over a year to make his debut in the coloured jersey. A partial reason can be the stereotype of being a Test specialist being associated with him right from his day one in international cricket.

Exultant after doing well in his debut ODI series, Indian opener KL Rahul has hit back at all those who branded him a player for the longer version, saying that he has proved them wrong.

“To all those guys who have been branded as Test players before. I want to tell that there will be coaches and players in the dressing room who can tell you that you are not good enough for a certain format. I never thought that they were right. I knew I was blessed with certain skills,” Rahul, who scored 196 runs in 3 ODIs with a century and half-century told bcci.tv.

Asked what will his advice be for those aspiring to play for India, the soft-spoken Mangalore-lad said: “My advice will be to not listen to people. Of course you have to listen to your coaches and elders but you don’t have to listen to what they say all the time. You know what’s best for your game. Go out there, be yourself and express yourself. And when someone says you can’t do something, prove them wrong.”

When kick started his international career with a bang, scoring a ton against Australia in Australia, many thought his solid technique was suited better for the longer version than for limited overs cricket. However, that was only until this year’s IPL, where he got more than 450 runs playing for RCB, giving breezy starts to his team as opener.

“I had worked really hard on my game. I worked on my strength and became strong enough so that everytime I hit the ball, it went to the boundary.”

This was the first time that Rahul played a full series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership (he had just played under him during his debut in Melbourne).

The talented Karnataka lad said that standing at slips alongside Dhoni has given him a sneak peek into what goes in ‘Captain Cool’s’ mind.

“Normally I don’t speak to him (Dhoni) too much but if I don’t understand and ask him, he would explain as to what was his thought process behind moving a fielder or giving someone the ball.”

Rahul, who also is a makeshift wicketkeeper, is trying to pick up a few finer points of ‘keeping by watching his skipper.

“I was watching as to how he is keeping wickets in these conditions where especially when the ball swings, it starts wobbling as it comes behind the stumps. Also he stands at different positions for different bowlers.

“Like Dhawal (Kulkarni) is a wicket-to-wicket bowler with a nice action while Barinder is a left-armer. Bumrah can be very hard to keep. He always tells me to stick to the basics.”