“I don't let it bother me, but it's not that I don't see it” - KL Rahul opens up on his average Test numbers

Indian opening batter KL Rahul has opened up on his exceptional century against the West Indies on the second day of the ongoing first Test at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, October 3.

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Speaking exclusively on JioStar, Rahul asserted that his Test numbers don’t bother him a lot. Notably, Rahul has an average of 35.41 after playing 63 Tests, accumulating 3789 runs. While it was his 11th Test ton, but only his second century at home.

"I don't let it bother me but it's not that I don't see it. Obviously, I see it and ideally any batter would want their numbers to be as high as it can be. But right now it's more important for me to make sure my game plans are tight and that I am enjoying my cricket. Those are the boxes I want to tick more than thinking about numbers. There is enough sample size also for me to see that when I do these things well, automatically I start getting more runs and the numbers will go higher as well,” KL Rahul told JioStar after the end of the day’s play.

"So it's important to take it step by step and not go to step 3 first and forget the first two steps. But there is obviously expectations and pressure of numbers. And there is so much being spoken about it as cricket is a numbers game at the end of the day. But I try and focus on the simpler things that I can control as much as I can and then leave the rest up to God,” he added.

Furthermore, Rahul also stressed his game plan of negating the new ball and making sure the team gets off to a solid start. Moreover, he also talked about England’s Bazball approach and the way the Indian batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal & Rishabh Pant approach their innings.

"It's how you plan your innings and what is your game plan. I am very excited to watch Bazball as well and the way they batted. It's great if it's part of their batters' game plan, I am all for batters batting that way. We have Rishabh Pant in our lineup, Yashasvi Jaiswal as well, who likes being aggressive. So all batters have their specific game plan,” he observed.

"Part of my game plan as an opener is to make sure I negate the new ball and make sure the team gets off to a solid start. And then once the spinners come on, identify what are the pockets I want to score off, based on the bounce, turn and the bowlers I am facing. But if I've walked into a game without a game plan, I've found out that I always struggle,” he concluded.

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