Former Australia skipper Matthew Hayden has praised India opener KL Rahul for his resilient 62-run knock against Australia on Day 2 of the Perth Test on November 22. According to Hayden, Rahul’s composed and confident innings showcased his immense potential, which he believes the batter needs to unleash more consistently.
Speaking to Star Sports, Hayden remarked that Rahul often overthinks his game, especially on challenging pitches like those in Australia, which can hinder his performance. However, he lauded Rahul’s promotion to the opening spot in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma as a crucial opportunity to silence his critics. The knock, Hayden suggested, was a reminder of what Rahul is capable of when he plays with clarity and confidence.
“As a test opener, you fail a lot more than you succeed. It’s simple. You’re gonna have a ball that’s new, conditions that are actually harmful to you as a player, and you’re going to get out to it, simple as that. But KL, he’s always struck me as a player that’s played in his mind a lot as well. Not so much in the positive way I’m talking about now. I think his confidence, which should be off the charts because the boy’s got serious talent. But it’s almost like the talent has confused this simplicity of the game and therefore interfered with the art of actually just batting, which is about leaving the ball in Test match cricket. And when you think back to the first inings, the conditions were tough What did KL do? left the ball better than anyone else in that innings,” Hayden said.
“I think also in the second innings as well, he would have imposed that wisdom onto his younger counterpart who also then came out with another great skill and that is hitting the ball late something which takes great confidence.” he added.
