Watch: KL Rahul Bats With One Stump In Nets

Making a comeback from a long injury layoff is never easy for any cricketer but KL Rahul is an exception. The India Test opener remained on the sidelines for around 4 months but hit the ground running in his first game for the team when he scored an entertaining 58-ball 54 against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in the two-day warm up game. But his hopes of playing his first international game since the Dharamsala Test against Australia in March this year was quashed after he was ruled out of the series-opener against the island nation due to a viral fever.

But the 25-year old recovered in time to be included in the playing eleven for the ongoing second Test in Colombo and impressed once again, scoring yet another half-century before his promising knock came to end due to an unfortunate run-out. The half-century was his sixth consecutive one in Tests and seventh in the last eight innings. And it seems the reason behind his consistent performances is his unusual yet a very tough pre-match practise method.

Ahead of every match, the Karnataka star hit a few balls with a stump to gain confidence and the much-needed timing. In a video posted by BCCI, Rahul revealed he picked up the drill from his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate AB de Villiers.

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“I have been doing it for a while now. I picked it up from AB de Villiers. He used to do that a lot in RCB nets. I do it mostly because it helps me to watch the ball a lot more closer and helps me maintain my shape. It’s very difficult to time the ball with such a small thing so it gives me a perfect idea of where I need to hit the ball. I don’t do it for too long, it’s just a few balls so that I  can get a little confidence,” he said.

Here is the clip of the batsman practising with one stump:

https://twitter.com/PRINCE3758458/status/893302045524058112

Batting coach Sanjay Bangar also said that a good practise session with the stump increases Rahul’s chances of middling the ball during the match.

“Every player has his pre-match routine, so does KL Rahul. What he does on pre-match days is that he likes to bat with one stump. The intention behind that is that if he can lay stump on the ball with such a thin margin, there is more chance of the ball hitting the middle of the bat when he goes out there in the middle,” said Bangar.

Watch: KL Rahul Bats With One Stump In Nets

“He likes to play without moving his feet and the intention there is to read with his head and shoulder and that actually helps to get a better footwork,” he added.

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