Nasser Hussain praises KL Rahul after Lord’s century, says he always needs to prove himself

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes KL Rahul needs to consistently prove himself to retain his place in the team. Rahul scored a fine knock of 100 runs off 177 balls in the first innings of the third Test match against England on Saturday. 

Hussain reckons that Rahul is always under the pump to prove his worth in the team. 

The experienced Indian batter added 141 runs with vice-captain Rishabh Pant, who scored 74 runs before he was run out. Rahul has scored four centuries while playing in English conditions since 2018, which is the highest for any opener. Furthermore, he became the first Indian opener to score two centuries at Lord’s.

Nasser Hussain wrote in a column for Daily Mail, “I went to interview him in Mumbai before the series started, and he said he has to try to shut out the noise. He had to do it again during the recent Champions Trophy, and responded with 140 runs in four innings for only once out. He feels he always has to prove himself: no matter how well he does, if there’s another white-ball series around the corner, there’ll be someone, somewhere, saying KL Rahul should miss out.”

Hussain hailed Rahul’s watertight technique and also praised the batter for making the most of his experience.

“But you can see how important his experience is in a Test side that recently lost Rohit and Virat Kohli. And his technique, with his hands close to his body, is a lesson for some of the others – including Karun Nair, who plays with them out in front.”

Meanwhile, Rahul surprisingly has a Test average in mid 30s and Hussain believes constant change in his batting position and him keeping wickets occasionally, has led to his below-par Test record.

“The anomaly is why a player of his obvious class and composure should have begun this series with a Test average of 33, and I suspect the answer lies in the fact that he’s moved around the order and even kept wicket a couple of times. He also plays the odd loose shot – he was out on the drive in the last over before lunch on the first day at Headingley, and here he lost concentration when he poked Shoaib Bashir to slip after reaching three figures,” wrote Hussain.

“But he’s never lost that hunger for runs, and he’s more than happy to let the flashier players do their stuff at the other end. That sounds easier said than done, because he’s come in for stick back in India.”

England ended the day’s play at 2-0 after India matched England’s score of 387 in the first innings.