KL Rahul should bat at four and keep wickets for India in T20s: Kevin Pietersen

K L Rahul is best placed to bat at number four and keep wickets for India in next year’s T20 World Cup, believes Delhi Capitals mentor Kevin Pietersen.

With his intent in the shortest format being questioned in the past, Rahul has tweaked his approach to be the leading run-getter for Delhi Capitals this season.

The competition for the wicket-keeper-batter’s slot in the national team is stiff with Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel and Ishan Kishan being the other options for the selectors.

Rahul has not been a part of India’s T20 setup since the 2022 World Cup but Pietersen reckons not only has he done enough to warrant a comeback, he is best suited for the wicket-keeper-batter’s role.

“I’d bat KL at four for India in T20 cricket. I think you guys have got plenty of opening batters.

“But the way KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four, and keep wickets for India,” said Pietersen in response to a PTI query after DC’s loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday night.

At the start of the season, Rahul himself had talked about his renewed approach towards the T20 format.

Besides the stellar show in IPL, it was Rahul’s recent performances for India in ODI cricket that left a huge impression on Pietersen, one of the best batters to have played for England.

“KL has been playing in a very positive manner since…mid to late last year. We saw how he finished off a couple of the games for India and almost sealed the deal in the Champions Trophy in Dubai.

“I’ve had a lot of incredibly brilliant conversations with him about batting, a lot of deep and meaningful conversations because when you grow up as a youngster like he did, you get taught defence, elbow up, play in the V,” he explained.

The big-hitter said it is not easy to change that approach after hitting the thirties.

“…you’ve got to change it and you’ve got to become a different kind of player for a different format which is evolving all the time.

“It’s very, very difficult. So the way that he has accepted that he’s needed to change, the way that he has changed is of great, great credit to the person that he is,” said Pietersen.

The next T20 World Cup will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Fine with tough batting surfaces in T20s

Scores in the range of 250 were a common occurrence last IPL but the slower nature of pitches has made batting tougher this season. Pietersen has no issues with that.

“On wickets like these (the one at Feroz Shah Kotla), you’ve got to be methodical, you’ve got to find rhythm. Virat (Kohli) found rhythm this evening. KL got rhythm,” he said.

“And I think that’s where you see the true batter. The real batter that can come out there, and sort of monitor the situation, and it looks effortless…is it good for T20 cricket to have the occasional wicket like this? I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” he added.

Pietersen was not in favour of bowlers “just being served up into the stands every single ball”.

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“…I don’t think every night people want to see that. I don’t really want to see it every night,” Pietersen said.

Foundations can be laid in IPL

He has played in the IPL and more recently been a part of the commentary panel. This season, he is back in the dugout as a member of DC support staff. The 44-year-old spoke about his role in the team.

“I always knew that when I was playing franchise cricket, that no particular coach could change you over that four to six week period, or eight week period,” he conceded.

However, he cited his interactions with Abhishek Porel to stress that changes introduced during the tournament can become permanent if persisted with over a period of time.

“…last night I was working on something. We’re five weeks into the tournament, we’ve only got three or four weeks left of the tournament. And I said to him, I said, ‘Abhi, this is not going to work for you tomorrow.’

“It might not work for you the next week. But if you keep working on it, in the next month, two months, three months, four months, I promise you this is going to help your game. And it’s going to take you to a level where you’re going to become a more destructive batter.

“So I think that’s the key. Trying to lay foundations now, and then also just mentally, trying to switch a few players on, and make them think better,” he added.