KL Rahul doesn't seem to believe in himself: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels that the reason behind KL Rahul’s poor form is the batter’s lack of belief in his own abilities. Opener Rahul has only managed 22 runs so far in three matches of the T20 World Cup with his highest score being nine.

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Rahul has got out in a similar fashion in all three matches, being dismissed as a result of either outside or inside edges. Gavaskar, however, feels there’s no technical issue with Rahul’s batting, instead the problem lies with his mindset.

“Every time I see Rahul not scoring runs, I get the impression, he does not actually know the kind of ability he has. He doesn’t seem to believe in himself. He is a fabulous player and has loads of ability. He’s got to start saying ‘I’m gonna go and knock the stuffing out of the ball’. He’s got to have that kind of attitude. It will make the whole difference,” Gavaskar told India Today.

During India’s training session on the eve of the Bangladesh game, Virat Kohli was seen having a chat with Rahul as the opener batted in the nets. Kohli was seen giving some batting tips to Rahul.

Virat Kohli in a lengthy conversation with KL Rahul ahead of the Bangladesh match. The gesturing suggests the chat is about the rising ball outside off. pic.twitter.com/613epHRJmJ

— Nikhil Naz (@NikhilNaz) November 1, 2022

Reflecting on Kohli’s chat with Rahul, Gavaskar said the former India captain was probably speaking to Rahul about the outside off-stump issues that the opener is facing.

“He’s (Kohli) the senior player, has bags of runs in every format, this has been his favourite ground, and he’ll be able to tell him what to do. I think he was trying to say that the ball outside off stump could cause trouble to anybody early in the innings when you are not certain about your off stump. You are not certain where the ball is gonna move. You tend to play at deliveries which you would otherwise leave and in this format, you can’t afford to leave deliveries. He’s got out a couple of times dragging the ball onto his stumps, at Perth, the extra bounce did him but he’s a class act, let’s not forget that,” Gavaskar added.

Meanwhile, India coach Rahul Dravid has come out in support of the opener and said that Rahul will not be dropped from the playing XI.

“I am hoping it all clicks together in the next three or four games. We know his (Rahul) quality, we know his ability, he is suited for these conditions, these pitches,” Dravid in a press conference ahead of the India vs Bangladesh match.

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