Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has urged KL Rahul to introspect and regain his confidence after a string of poor performances. Rahul, who was dropped from the Indian Test team after the first match against New Zealand, has been under pressure due to his recent form and the release from his IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants.
Ganguly believes that Rahul needs to take ownership of his situation and work on improving his mental strength. “He has to speak to himself and say, just put everything behind. Ups and downs are part and parcel of sports. Confidence will go up and down. You have to bring it back by working hard in the nets,” Ganguly said.
The former BCCI president also highlighted the challenges Rahul faces due to the emergence of young players in the Indian team. “He (Rahul) has been in and out of the team, has seen young players play well in T20, you’ve seen what they’ve done in South Africa. But then he has to change. He cannot expect to keep playing the same way and expect to get picked all the time because somebody else will come and get picked,” Ganguly added.
Ganguly suggested that Rahul should consider opening the batting for India in the Perth Test if captain Rohit Sharma is unavailable. “I think so and play Dhruv Jurel in the middle,” Ganguly said.
Rahul’s recent struggles have raised concerns about his place in the Indian team. However, Ganguly believes that the 32-year-old has the ability to overcome this difficult period. “He’s got a hundred in South Africa last time they want, excellent hundred in Centurion. He can scores hundreds in these conditions, but the mind has to believe that and the fight has to be there,” Ganguly said.
