“He needs to come out with expressive batting” – Salman Butt on KL Rahul’s flop show at T20 World Cup
Salman Butt has questioned Team India vice-captain KL Rahul’s approach after another flop show at the T20 World Cup.
The former Pakistan captain criticized Rahul's conservative and tentative approach while opening the batting. He also pointed out the amendments Rahul needs to bring into his batting for the upcoming matches.
Rahul departed for nine runs off 14 balls against South Africa in Perth on Sunday (October 30), leaving the Men in Blue at 26/2 in five overs. Aiden Markram caught him at slip off Lungi Ngidi's bowling.
The right-handed batter earlier scored nine (against the Netherlands) and four runs (versus Pakistan).
: 4 (8)
: 9 (12)
: 9 (14)
vs 🇵🇰: 4 (8)
vs 🇳🇱: 9 (12)
vs 🇿🇦: 9 (14)
KL Rahul hasn't had the best of starts to the #T20WorldCup https://t.co/qQsOO7Rblu
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt said:
“He [KL Rahul] needs to come out with expressive batting. If you look at the way he played against Western Australia in the practice match, he played a lot of shots. I think [in Perth] the conditions were challenging, so he came up with a conservative approach.”
He continued:
“Although he hit a six, he was tentative, caught in the slips. He didn’t play the shot or place the delivery and snicked it. If he is initially hesitant, take a few singles to understand the wicket, the line and the length before attacking.”
Surprisingly, the batter scored a couple of half-centuries against Australia and Western Australia in the warmup and practice matches, respectively.
KL Rahul must deliver ahead of T20 World Cup knockout stages
KL Rahul must come out of his lean patch with good scores against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. A couple of decent scores could help him gain much-needed confidence ahead of the crucial knockout stage of the T20 World Cup.
His contributions at the top will also ensure that the middle order can use the platform to India’s advantage.
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The Men in Blue will face Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday (November 2). Shakib Al Hasan and Co. are coming on the back of a couple of wins against the Netherlands and Zimbabwe in their first three matches.
India will aim to win their remaining fixtures by a decent margin to enter the semifinals on a high note.