KL Rahul
KL Rahul (Credits - Getty)

KL Rahul has grown by leaps and bounds in the past six months or so. The Karnataka opener was dropped from the Test side following a dismal tour of the West Indies but the 28-year-old, who recently celebrated his birthday, went back to domestic cricket and discovered his touch and since then, have proceeded to hit a purple patch.

KL Rahul is primarily an opener but with India having an established duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket, the right-hander has often seen his batting position get shuffle.

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KL Rahul (Photo-AFP)

KL Rahul is currently the first-choice opener in Twenty20 International cricket alongside Rohit Sharma while he bats in the middle-order in the fifty-over format of the game besides also donning the wicket-keeping gloves.

In a recent Instagram Live session, KL Rahul talked about the pros and cons of being an opener.

According to KL Rahul, the biggest advantage of being an opener is he gets to set the pace of the game. And, unlike a middle-order batsman, the openers get to play a full quota of overs whether it is One-day Internationals or T20I cricket.

“You as an opener, you set the pace of the game – that is so thrilling for us youngsters. In the middle, you don’t know what will the pitch be like, if you get to a start, it’s thrilling. It’s a one day or t20, you get to bat all-overs,” KL Rahul said during an Instagram Live session.

Another advantage that KL Rahul pointed out was that an opener gets to play the hard new ball, which comes pretty well on the bat, and once an opener gets in, he or she can really dent the bowlers.

“You get to play a hard new ball and the bowlers are fresh. If you get to a start, you know you can dent them. Such a good feeling when you can dominate,” Rahul added.

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What are the cons of opening the innings? KL Rahul lists a few

KL Rahul Reveals The Pros And Cons Of Opening In Cricket
KL Rahul. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

While in white-ball cricket, opening the innings is one of the most preferred positions for any batsman, the same can’t be said in Test match cricket.

Often an opener can get an unplayable delivery at the start of the innings on a docile pitch, and all he can do a post that is sit in the change room and watch his teammates shellack hundreds or even double-hundreds.

“Sometimes you don’t know what to expect and a lot of times you get an unplayable ball, you get out in 9th over, then in 80-90 overs, nothing swings and you as an opener are out early,” KL Rahul added.

The only tricky part of being an opener in Test match cricket is if your team is batting second, you might end up fielding for two days. And with very little time to change-up, sometimes it gets really hard to survive the last few overs a day.

“As an opener, you don’t get a break when you bat 2nd. You field, have to change quickly, don’t get a breather, your legs are tired, to pick yourself sometimes is really really hard,” he added.

KL Rahul admitted that he hates it when he has to see off the day and bat for 3-4 overs.

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