Xtra Time Web Desk: Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has downplayed KL Rahul’s lean patch in T20 cricket in recent times. The batsman from Karnataka has been struggling to get going as he was dismissed yet again without scoring in the third T20I against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday. Rahul has only managed to score 1 run in his last three innings in the ongoing series. Surprisingly the Karnataka batsman has received unconditional backing of the teams batting coach Vikram Rathour. According to Rathour, Rahul has been the best T20 batsman for India in the shorter format.
“Anybody can have a lean phase. Last one year, I think KL has been our best batsman in the T20 format. He’s averaging more than 40 with a strike rate of 145 plus,” said Rathour in the virtual press conference after the match.
“So three failures does not change that fact, that he’s maybe the best batsman we have in that format, and he’s done really well for us in the past year,” he added.
“I think this is the time that, as a team, we need to support him. Absolutely sure he will come out of this lean phase that he’s going through,” Rathour said.
Considering the support that Rahul has from the team management, he is likely to hold on to his spot in the team for the next two games although an extended period of failures with the bat might see the team management re-evaluate its stance on the player.