MUMBAI: KL Rahul has dedicated every minute since his last IPL match to preparing for the England tour and rightly deserves all the recognition coming his way for doing the “dirty job at all numbers” for India, said former assistant coach Abhishek Nayar on Sunday.
Rahul finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer in the five-Test series, scoring 532 runs at an average of 53.20, including two centuries and two fifties. He also forged a strong opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Nayar, who worked closely with Rahul during his tenure as India's assistant coach until recently, said while he cannot disclose the specific adjustments Rahul has made, he is pleased to see the results.
“I can't talk about the changes that I’ve seen in KL Rahul. I can’t, because then it's out there and the effectiveness goes down a lot,” said Nayar, who is currently the head coach of the UP Warriorz team in the Women's Premier League, in an exclusive interview with PTI.
“All I can say is that whatever the changes are, they have really worked. Sometimes — and I always say this in a cricketer’s journey and in a team’s journey — things need to click. You need a bit of the rub of the green. I think he's had that as well.”
Nayar said Rahul began his preparations for the England tour without wasting any time after the IPL.
“He has worked very, very hard. Very few people know that after the birth of his child, he was in the IPL and came back immediately,” Nayar said. “He started preparing for the (England) Test series while a lot of people wouldn’t have done that. He knew the importance of this series. He understood it.”
“And every minute post the last game that he played in the IPL was about how he could do well in this Test series. So it’s great to see him do well there and get the recognition he rightly deserves — being the guy who’s done all the dirty jobs and still managed to perform at every number in that batting order,” he added.
Speaking ahead of the fifth Test, Nayar said, “All in all, Indian cricket is in good hands and hopefully we wrap it up today (Sunday) and everything’s good.”
Nayar also praised the character shown by the Indian team during the tour.
“A lot of the changes you’ve seen in our players getting runs are also due to the conditions that have played a part, but also because of the hunger our players have shown to go out there and prove a point,” he said.
“The determination in the last game (in Manchester), the fight they showed — it just tells you about the mentality our players carry and the feeling they have for Test cricket,” he added.