"Gautam Gambhir and I can bring about a turnaround for KL Rahul" - Abhishek Nayar
India men's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar is hopeful that he and head coach Gautam Gambhir can bring about a turnaround in KL Rahul's batting form in the coming weeks. He said Rahul is finding his feet after a long time away from red-ball cricket and only needs some direction to get back to his best.
Once a sure shot for India across formats, Rahul is fighting for his place in the national set-up after months of underwhelming outings, including in the IPL. His highest score in the last 10 innings (which comprise the IPL, ODIs against Sri Lanka, the Duleep Trophy and the ongoing Bangladesh Tests) is 57.
"I think when you are playing for India, inspiration is not something you need," Nayar told media on the eve of the second Test in Kanpur. "Sometimes, it's just direction. I feel KL is... having spent a little time with him in the last few days, I think he is someone who understands his game very well."
Nayar also agreed to not read too much into the Lucknow Super Giants captain's stats, saying:
"There are times when a player is finding his feet. I feel in South Africa, Rahul played some tremendous knocks for India. We are very hopeful that with the combination of Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) and myself, we can bring about a turnaround for him."
Rahul looked quite comfortable at the crease for his 16 in the first innings of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh before edging a flick to short-leg against Mehidy Hasan Miraz's left-arm spin. In the next innings, India declared when he was at 22.
"Rahul's second innings approach was promising" - Abhishek Nayar
As India had extended the lead by 400 when Rahul came to bat, the right-hander could play freely and hit four boundaries in 19 balls. Nayar saw that as a positive and expressed confidence that he'll soon stand true to expectations.
"The way he batted in the second innings of the last game showed what we're looking for. Even though we didn't give him much of a chance in the second innings, his approach was promising," the assistant coach noted. "I'm confident that going forward, the expectations from him will align with his performances."
India and Bangladesh will face each other in the second Test of the series in Kanpur from Friday at 9:30 am IST.