T20 World Cup 2022: "He doesn't seem to believe in himself" - Sunil Gavaskar on KL Rahul's struggles

Former Indian opening batter Sunil Gavaskar reckons that KL Rahul lacks the self-belief to overcome his poor form in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Gavaskar also feels that the right-handed batter seems oblivious of his ability.

Rahul has been in woeful form in the ongoing tournament, managing only 22 runs in three innings at an average of 7.33 and with a strike rate of 64.71.

The Karnataka batter's ineffectiveness has cost India rapid starts in the powerplay in three games so far.

KL Rahul at the Adelaide indoor nets https://t.co/1IvolLBiyb

Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar opined that Rahul has an enormous striking ability; however, he must change his attitude to succeed.

"Every time I see Rahul not scoring runs, I get the impression, he does not actually know the kind of ability he has. He doesn't seem to believe in himself. He is a fabulous player and has loads of ability.

"He's got to start saying 'I'm gonna go and knock the stuffing out of the ball'. He's got to have that kind of attitude. I want him to swagger. It will make a whole difference."

Despite Rahul's struggles with the bat, head coach Rahul Dravid has backed him to come good. Dravid stated that the underfire opener has a proven track record and that it's been a challenging tournament for opening batters.

"He'll be able to tell him what to do" - Sunil Gavaskar on Virat Kohli-KL Rahul chats

Reacting to conversations in the nets between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul on the eve of the Bangladesh game, Gavaskar believes that the experienced batter will be in a better position to advise on how to come past the trouble early in the innings.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added:

"He's (Kohli) the senior player, has bags of runs in every format, this has been his favourite ground, and he'll be able to tell him what to do. I think he was trying to say that the ball outside off stump could cause trouble to anybody early in the innings when you are not certain about your off stump.

"You aren't certain where the ball is gonna move. You tend to play at deliveries which you would otherwise leave and in this format, you can't afford to leave deliveries. He's got out a couple of times dragging the ball onto his stumps, at Perth, the extra bounce did him but he's a class act, let's not forget that."

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India will face Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday in a bid to seal their semi-final spot.