"He feels he always has to prove himself" - Former England captain's huge claim on KL Rahul after latter's ton in ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Team India opener KL Rahul recently spoke to him about constantly needing to prove himself to remain in the side across formats. Hussain's remarks came after the 33-year-old scored a sensational century in the ongoing third India-England Test at Lord's.

With the five-match series tied at 1-1, Rahul's knock helped India level England on 387 after the first innings. The stylish right-hander became only the second Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar to score multiple Test centuries at Lord's.

Talking about the star Indian opener in his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain wrote:

"I went to interview him in Mumbai before the series started, and he said he has to try to shut out the noise. He had to do it again during the recent Champions Trophy, and responded with 140 runs in four innings for only once out. He feels he always has to prove himself: no matter how well he does, if there’s another white-ball series around the corner, there’ll be someone, somewhere, saying KL Rahul should miss out."

He added:

"But you can see how important his experience is in a Test side that recently lost Rohit and Virat Kohli. And his technique, with his hands close to his body, is a lesson for some of the others – including Karun Nair, who plays with them out in front."

Rahul entered the England tour with outstanding white-ball but sub-par red-ball numbers in Tests, with an average of under 34. However, the veteran batter has already scored two centuries in five innings of the ongoing England series.

"He’s moved around the order and even kept wicket a couple of times" - Nasser Hussain on KL Rahul's poor Test numbers

Nasser Hussain believes the constant change of batting positions with the occasional wicket-keeping proved detrimental to KL Rahul in his underwhelming Test career. The star batter has batted from opening to No. 6 in the Indian batting order in the longest format and kept wickets in two Test matches.

"The anomaly is why a player of his obvious class and composure should have begun this series with a Test average of 33, and I suspect the answer lies in the fact that he’s moved around the order and even kept wicket a couple of times. He also plays the odd loose shot – he was out on the drive in the last over before lunch on the first day at Headingley, and here he lost concentration when he poked Shoaib Bashir to slip after reaching three figures," wrote Hussain (via the aforementioned source).

He added:

"But he’s never lost that hunger for runs, and he’s more than happy to let the flashier players do their stuff at the other end. That sounds easier said than done, because he’s come in for stick back in India."

Rahul's most recent century at Lord's was his fourth in Tests in England and a seventh in SENA countries.