Dubai [UAE], March 10 : After playing a decisive role in India's Champions Trophy success against New Zealand, wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul shed light on the mantra behind his recent success: "Watch and learn."
Rahul has reinvented himself as a player since the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket, marked by the arrival of Gautam Gambhir.
The 32-year-old has found support from management and worked hard to refine his wicketkeeping skills and batting technique, which eventually paid off when India lifted the Champions Trophy for the first time since 2013.
KL Rahul, who has played at multiple positions in the batting order, was given the responsibility of number six, as the team wanted to put Axar Patel at five, to give extra depth to the side. Rahul played a crucial role in the middle, scoring a valuable 34* in 33 balls in a crunch situation. In five matches and four innings, KL scored 140 runs at an average of 140.00 and a strike rate of 97.90, with the best score of 42*.
"I have viewed myself or how I have always played cricket or what I have been taught from a very early age from my coaches is that cricket is a team game and whatever the team requires of you, and you need to be able to do that, you need to be able to accept that firstly and find a way to put in performances for the team and understand what your role is, understand what the responsibility is, understand what it takes to be successful batting in defence," Rahul told reporters.
Rahul exhibited nerves of steel in a hard-line situation against New Zealand before a sold-out crowd in Dubai, steering India to glory and creating an everlasting memory that will stay etched in cricketing history.
In pursuit of a fighting 252-run target, India lost Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel in a flurry, leaving fans concerned about the fate of the final. Rahul calmed the nerves by keeping the scoreboard ticking, scoring at a handsome 100-plus strike rate and delivering the killer blow with Ravindra Jadeja.
It wasn't the first instance of Rahul delivering a clutch performance and turning the tides in India's favour. En route to the final, Rahul gobsmacked Australia and smoked the ball into the stands for a towering maximum to finish things off in style in the semi-final.
Even in India's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, he hammered an unbeaten 41 and raised an 87-run stand with vice-captain Shubman Gill to bring in the Men in Blue home.
It isn't the usual opening slot Rahul has thrived at; by coming in and flawlessly executing his role at number six, he has added an additional layer of depth to India's batting unit.
"It requires a lot of preparation, it requires a lot of work outside the cricket field, just sitting and thinking about how I need to take each game and how I need to perform in different situations and just watch some of the players that I like and some of the players that bat at No. 5, No. 6 and how they have been successful previously. So, just watch, learn, and understand my role. I am really happy that I have been given different roles and have been able to perform," he added.
Rahul brought a perfect end to his stellar campaign, during which he garnered 140 runs at a staggering average of 140.00.