The new aggressive approach has worked well for us, we will continue to build on that: KL Rahul

India’s prolific batter KL Rahul recently opened up on the aggressive approach from India since the early exit in the T20 World Cup 2021, and emphasised on the importance of playing with a lot of freedom. The 30-year-old did not have the best of times in the recent tour to Zimbabwe, where he led the side to a 3-0 win, but returned with scores of 1 and 30 in the two innings.

However, his IPL form has quite good, as he finished as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 616 runs in 15 innings for the Lucknow Super Giants. Rahul has been out of international action for the last two months until he returned for the Zimbabwe tour. The right-hander will now head into the Asia Cup 2022 with the hope of getting his touch back at the top of the order.

What the team and the captain needed has been embraced: KL Rahul

Rahul mentioned about India’s new approach, which has reaped a lot of rewards since the T20 World Cup 2021 and reckoned that the team has been working on applying pressure on the bowlers.

“This new approach, we’d spoken about it much before when I was part of the team early on in the year as well and just after the [2021 T20] World Cup. Last season we had spoken about what we need to improve individually and how as a team we try to be more aggressive, put the bowlers under pressure by going out there and play with a lot of authority, freedom and aggression,” Rahul told the press, ahead of the India-Pakistan clash.

“So I was there when that happened. Unfortunately, I have not been able to play too many T20Is since then, but we have played the IPL, and I played with the same approach, trying to see how with that same approach, I can be consistent and still contribute to the team. I haven’t played since the last two-three months, and that is a challenge for me, one I am looking forward to.”

He further explained that the coach and captain’s requirements have been understood and embraced by the players and highlighted the significance of building a strong platform.

“It’s done really well for us, the new approach. What the team wanted and what the captain needed has been embraced by everybody, every player on the team, which is great to see, and that is the biggest step. That big step has already been taken and embraced by the players, so from now on, it’s only about building on it and getting stronger and by the time the World Cup comes, everyone knows exactly what to do,” he added.