KL Rahul is giving us that stability with the bat – Ravichandran Ashwin

It was a great show of resilience from KL Rahul against the mercurial bowling unit of Sri Lanka that saw him putting up an important knock worth 39 runs, also combining with Ishan Kishan for an important partnership that kept India well in the game. 

Rahul, who returned to the Indian squad for the Asia Cup was a last minute inclusion in the XI before the game against Pakistan, after Shreyas Iyer picked up a back spasm just before the toss. Braving the mighty bowling unit of India’s arch-rivals, Rahul smashed a blistering ton and stayed unbeaten till the end, carving a match-winning partnership with Virat Kohli for the third wicket.

Given the fact that he is a wicket-keeper batter, it is quite obvious that comparisons with MS Dhoni would be a regularity in his life. Sharing his thoughts on the subject, Indian off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, made a crucial remark about Rahul’s batting flair and the kind of remarkable transition that he has gone through.

Talking on his Youtube channel, Ashwin said, “KL Rahul is giving us that stability with the bat in the middle-order. That’s why batting in the middle-order is really difficult. MS Dhoni nailed that art. However, I am not at all comparing KL Rahul with MS Dhoni. Plus, he did a different role of batting at number 6/7 compared to KL Rahul.”

He further added, “But I feel he is slowly mastering his role perfectly. He put a partnership with Ishan Kishan initially against Sri Lanka too. When Dunith Wellalage was in a great rhythm, KL Rahul left it alone for two deliveries. That was a very good sign. It showed us that he had a good game plan.”