“KL Rahul Opens Up on Stepping Into Senior Roles in Rohit and Kohli’s Absence”

KL Rahul reflected on assuming India’s senior Test role after Rohit and Kohli, emphasizing guiding younger players without added pressure.

KL Rahul Embraces Role as India’s Senior Test Batter

KL Rahul

KL Rahul reflected on stepping into the role of India’s senior-most batter in Tests following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. In his first series in this position against England, he delivered a career-best performance, scoring 532 runs in 10 innings at an average of 53.20, including two centuries and two fifties, with a top score of 137. He continued this form in the ongoing Test series against West Indies, scoring a fine century in the first innings at Narendra Modi Stadium.

Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, Rahul has taken responsibility as a senior batter, mentoring younger players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan. Reflecting on his new role, he admitted it felt strange initially but highlighted the importance of guiding young players.

I don’t know if it’s happened organically, but I’ve generally not thought too much about it. Of course, I miss having those senior guys around—most of my Test career has been with them. When I walked into the dressing room in England and saw Rohit, Virat, and Ashwin not around, it felt a little strange. Somewhere along the way, you get the sense that, as a senior player, you need to step up and take more responsibility so that the younger guys can focus on their cricket without feeling burdened,” Rahul said on Star Sports.

‘The way Gambhir, Shubman started talking to me…’: KL Rahul

With his century on Friday, KL Rahul became only the fourth Indian opener to score 10 Test hundreds, joining Sunil Gavaskar (33), Virender Sehwag (22), and Murali Vijay (12) in this elite group.

Rahul also reflected on the evolving dynamics in the Indian Test dressing room, noting how interactions with Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill signalled the need to shoulder greater responsibility.

Even the way Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill have started talking to me has been slightly different, which gives you that sense that you need to step up and try to fill in some big boots. At the end of the day, though, I just try to do my job, and I’m happy that I’m doing it well so far,” he added.

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