“The Pace of the Game is a Lot Slower”: KL Rahul on Domestic Cricket

After having dropped out of the India test squad due to poor form, KL Rahul showed his class playing for Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He smashed a 122-ball 131 against Kerala at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. With this ton, he has given the selectors another chance to think about him as an opener again.

After the game, KL Rahul admitted that there are challenges to switch to domestic cricket from international cricket. He referred to the domestic cricket as a slower one. However, he shared that it’s more challenging but he knows he needs?to work on his game.

“The pace of the game is a lot slower,” he was quoted as saying by Times of India. “In international cricket, the stadiums are full all the time. The wickets I feel are a lot better at the higher level. Here it’s a bit more challenging. If we get to bat first, then the first 10-15 overs is a bit of a challenge. It’s like playing the first session in a red-ball game. That’s also a good challenge for me because I need to work on my game. Obviously, you have to stay a lot more disciplined.”

KL Rahul initially took time to build the innings, scoring 50 off 68 balls before changing the gear. He said that the discipline while the shot selection was key to his success. However, he said that the innings wasn’t free-flowing but that gives him satisfaction and confidence as well. He again said that he wants to work on his technique.

“Not as free-flowing as I wanted it to be,” he admitted. “I want to challenge myself in difficult conditions, work on my technique, see where I’m faltering.”

The opener further shared that he wanted to carry forward the innings and didn’t take any risk over his shot selection.

“I wanted to make sure that one of the batsmen is there till 40-45 overs. Somewhere in the first game (against Jharkhand), I felt that I could have carried on longer and delayed that risky shot. Today I tried to stay more disciplined. That?s what I am looking to get out of these 8-10 games, make sure I am disciplined with my shot selection,” he concluded.