KL Rahul reveals how AB de Villiers's advice helped change his game

What’s the story?

India’s emerging star KL Rahul has opened up on the best piece of advice he has received in his career thus far. The 25-year old shared a game-changing experience from his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the previous season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“It was last year from AB de Villiers. I got three or four back-to-back fifties in the IPL. Once, I was sitting with him, very disappointed that I couldn't finish a game. I was unable to convert the fifties or sixties into bigger scores. I always felt I could get a 100 or 110 for my team, but I would get out on 50 or 60 which wasn't helping the team and we lost a couple of games. I was frustrated and felt like banging my head against the wall”, Rahul told mid-day.

He added, “That's when AB told me that I shouldn't be chasing numbers. He told me that if I kept things simple, good things would come to me. He said cricket is a very simple game and the more you complicate it, the harder it gets. The simpler you keep things, the game will give you more in return, he said.”

The Background

From 14 matches in the 2016 IPL edition, Rahul scored 397 runs at an average of 44.11 and strike-rate of 146.49 including 4 half-centuries. Touted as a red-ball specialist until then, the season helped him showcase his skills in the shortest format of the game.

The heart of the matter

During a limited-overs tour to Zimbabwe which came close on the heels of the 2016 IPL season, Rahul unleashed an array of strokes and registered his maiden ODI century in the opening ODI. In the first encounter of the 2-match T20I series against West Indies at Lauderhill, the elegant right-hander smashed an unbeaten 110 to become only the third Indian batsman to score centuries in all three formats.

A strong showing in the ensuing home series followed. When it seemed like he was at the top of his game, Rahul suffered a shoulder injury and had to miss out on the 2017 edition of the IPL as well as the upcoming Champions Trophy.

What’s next?

Upon undergoing a surgery in London to fix his labrum (a ring of fibrocartilage), Rahul is currently recuperating from the aftereffects. He is targeting a return to the Indian team during the series against Sri Lanka in couple of months.

Author’s Take

One of the biggest advantages of playing in the IPL is getting the opportunity to share the dressing room with some of the best players in the world. Even though de Villiers’s advice may seem simple, it certainly helped Rahul change his approach towards batting.