"Dropping to No. 5 seemed very different" - KL Rahul says he watched videos during injury layoff to prepare for new role

Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has opened up about the "very different" feeling of batting at No. 5 after spending most of his ODI career at the top of the order.

Rahul started his ODI career as an opener, scoring a century against Zimbabwe in 2016. He didn't do too badly in the 23 innings at the top (915 runs at an average of 43.57) but India slowly started playing him down the order in 2017-2019 to accommodate Shikhar Dhawan before consistently using Rahul at No. 4 or 5.

The move worked out like a charm as Rahul's numbers improved (average of 60 at No. 4 and 50 at No. 5). His stability and game awareness under pressure made the batting lineup more formidable too.

“Batting at four and five doesn’t feel like a huge difference," Rahul said in a post-match conversation with JioCinema after India's three-match ODI series against Australia. "But yes, having opened the batting all my life – dropping to No. 5 seemed very different. I have been given that role for the last couple of years and I have played at that position for a long period of time. So, I understand the changes I have to make technically and mentally and when to take risks."

Rahul, who returned to the team in the 2023 Asia Cup after a long injury lay-off, also spoke about how the time away from the game helped him improve.

"Also, I had some time away from the game – went back and saw a couple of videos of players who have done really well at No.4 and 5 and how they lead their innings. So, when I go into the middle I asses the conditions and execute the best that I can," he added.

The 31-year-old has picked up where he left off before the injury. He scored 169 runs at an average of 84.50 in four matches at the Asia Cup before amassing 136 runs in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against Australia.

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KL Rahul looks to build on Asia Cup and Australia ODIs for the World Cup

Rahul also spoke about India's triumphant Asia Cup campaign followed by the series win over Australia and the team's eagerness to build on the successes for the upcoming 2023 World Cup.

“The last few weeks have put everyone in a similar mindset," he said. "The Asia Cup was really important for us, every game was a must-win game, and we were playing very competitive games.

"Same here during this series, we played a very good Australian side and they have had the edge over us in India in the last couple of years. So, we tried to do our best – we were assigned very specific roles and asked to execute them the best we could. Luckily for us, a lot of guys did that really well. So hopefully, we can build on that and get better as a team,” he added.

The 2023 World Cup will kick off on October 5. India will play their first match against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.