London:KL Rahul is in a comfortable space after a long time. It took 10 years of uncertainty for him to be here, scoring multiple centuries in a series. Having turned 33 three months ago, he wouldn’t be wrong in believing he was running out of time to truly own a place in India’s Test side.For a man who has never been shy to explore varied options to improve his game, Rahul sought help from Formula One professionals to clear his mind. “In the last year or so, I worked on a few mental drills. I’m closely associated with Red Bull, so I had the opportunity to go there and work with some of the coaches that work with the elite F1 guys and other adventure sports people who require a lot of this mental side of the game,” Rahul said after scoring his second hundred in the series on Saturday evening.“I spent a bit of time with an expert who can help me improve my reaction time. Some mental drills and games that you can play that help you get better with your reaction time, and stuff like that. I picked this up from one of the guys that I worked with in Salzburg,” he added.Rahul’s indifferent career may be attributed to the inconsistent batting positions given to him. He was batting at No. 6 at the start of the home season last year. He accidentally got to open in Perth because former captain Rohit Sharma skipped the first Test of India’s tour of Australia. He showed assurance at the top of the order, which forced Rohit to bat down the order first before asking Rahul to come down again.
This is the first time in the last six years that Rahul has a clear mandate to bat at the top of the order. “I’m happy batting at the top of the order and I’ve always enjoyed batting at the top of the order. In my junior cricket days, I’ve always batted at the top. So that’s something that feels good,” he said.Rahul becoming consistent at the top of the order has laid a solid foundation for Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant to dominate England. In previous years, he has had the issue of starting off a series well and then tapering off. If Rahul can make his form last, India could be in for something special.
