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‘When I saw Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli not around…’: KL Rahul lays bare on taking up senior player mantle
KL Rahul reflected on stepping into India’s senior Test role post-Rohit and Kohli, noting the need to guide younger players without adding pressure.
KL Rahul spoke about 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 role, he delivered his 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 carried the same form in the ongoing Test series against West Indies with a fine century in the first innings at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, Rahul has embraced the responsibility of senior batter, mentoring the younger players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan.
Rahul reflected on stepping into the senior-most role in the Test dressing room after Rohit and Kohli retired. He admitted it felt strange at first, but emphasised the importance of guiding younger players, letting them focus on their game without carrying extra pressure.
“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 two or three senior guys around in the dressing room—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 because they had always been there. Somewhere along the way, you get the sense that, as a senior player, you need to step up and take a bit more responsibility, so that the younger guys can focus on their cricket without feeling burdened," Rahul said on Star Sports.
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With a century on Friday, Rahul entered the record books by becoming only the fourth Indian to hit 10 Test tons as an opener. He joins Sunil Gavaskar (33), Virender Sehwag (22), and Murali Vijay (12) in the select group of Indian openers with ten or more Test hundreds.
Rahul further discussed the evolving dynamics in the Indian Test dressing room. He noticed Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill interacting differently, signalling the need to shoulder more 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.
