"He is very happy in the role he is performing" - Team India batting coach hails versatile cricketer ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy final
Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak praised KL Rahul for his versatility with the willow and agreeing to bat at a lower number than usual for the team's sake. He also asserted that the Karnataka batter, who has also been keeping wickets for India in ODIs of late, is happy with the role that he is performing for the team.
Rahul has been batting at No. 6 in the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy, with left-handed batter Axar Patel coming in ahead of him. There have been mixed views to India's tactics, with some experts questioning the logic of Rahul batting after Axar. Both players have performed key roles in Team India's journey to the final.
Speaking to the media on Friday, March 7, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak opened up on Rahul's batting position and stated that the player is happy with the role that he has been assigned. Kotak said (as quoted by PTI):
"He is someone who can open, someone who can go at 4 or 5, and someone who is doing what number 6 is demanding. He adapts well and he is very happy in the role he is performing."
Elaborating on the tactical decision taken by the Indian think tank, the former Saurashtra batter opined that having a quality batter like Rahul at No. 6 has helped the team's cause. The 52-year-old said:
"When he starts performing at that number that obviously helps him also because it is a different situation he is going in. So, that is great for the team as well. But whatever I have spoken to him, he is happy to do whatever the team requires, and he has been doing that."
In 31 innings while batting at No. 5 in ODIs, Rahul has scored 1,299 runs at an average of 56.47 and a strike rate of 96.36, with two hundreds and nine half-centuries. At No. 6, he has batted seven times so far, scoring 160 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate 89.38.
"They have 15-20 years of experience" - Kotak says no undue pressure on India ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy final
India won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States. However, overall, they have a rather poor record in ICC tournament finals. Kotak, however, dismissed talks of the team being under undue pressure. He asserted that there are enough experienced players in the team to handle the situation.
"The seniors, young players... they all talk. That is something very priceless. Rohit, Virat, Hardik, those guys are talking along with Shami and Jadeja. They have 15-20 years of experience. They are talking to the players who have been playing for two or three years. So, some things, obviously, you learn with experience," the former Saurashtra batter said.
Before winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, India tasted defeats in the 2023 ODI World Cup final and World Test Championship (WTC) final earlier in the same year. They also reached the summit clash of the 2017 Champions Trophy, but went down to Pakistan.