TimesofIndia.com in Leeds: Early in their partnership, the stump mic picked up a heartwarming conversation between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant where the former was urging his younger teammate to watch the ball closely. Pant heard him and responded, “hanji… aise nahi hai aise hi ghuma du… ball acche se dekhta hu.” (yes, it’s not that I swing wildly, I watch it nicely). From the outside, it may feel like a normal conversation between two batters looking to bail the side out of trouble after the early hiccup – Shubman Gill’s wicket – but it meant much more. It felt much more.There is a six-year age gap between KL Rahul and Pant, and while it’s not the ideal difference between siblings of an average Indian family, the camaraderie in the middle certainly felt like one. Without being authoritative, Rahul was putting the point across to Pant with an unsaid sense of assurance in his tone. The young batter was all ears and the “hanji” – hindi word for yes used while addressing someone senior to you – said and conveyed a lot more.This is an Indian dressing room undergoing transition and Rahul, as far as batting is concerned, is the only link between the past and the future. Since making his debut in 2014, the right-hander has played with the former greats, seen plenty come in and out of the side and is now witnessing the youngsters – who made their debuts in front of him – take the next step in their Test careers. Rahul, however, hasn’t turned that guiding angel for the young batters overnight.It was visible during the numerous net sessions in Australia where he would guide Yashasvi Jaiswal, speak to him constantly and maintain the chatter even when the two opened the innings together. It was a much star-studded dressing room back then but things have changed now. He is the senior pro who has taken the responsibility of making the youngsters comfortable.And he was doing just that when Pant walked out to bat under an overcast sky, windy conditions and against a bowling attack which was asking a lot of questions in the first hour of day’s play.
Pant and Rahul together wasn’t going to be similar music from both ends and it was a throwback to the 90s where the audio cassettes were dominated by 2-in-1 collections. One side would have music completely different from the other. Vengaboys on one side and a Yash Chopra classic on the other meant there was something for everyone.With their own means and ways, the two drove India into a position of control. Rahul continued to be patient, calm and left the ball as well as anyone has in this part of the world. Pant, meanwhile, entered a period of self-talking where he calmed himself to weather the early storm and then returned to maverick ways before making timely returns to sensibility.Rahul faced 143 deliveries during the partnership, Pant faced 140 and the two contributed 66 and 118 runs, respectively. The contributions, however, weren’t of importance here but the manner in which they complimented each other, in spite of the different approaches, was. The elder brother in Rahul didn’t miss an opportunity to walk up to his teammate when he would sense him getting edgy – which happened far too often.With Pant, every delivery becomes an event but Rahul, having played so much cricket with the explosive left-hander, timed his chats to perfection and didn’t come across as the overbearing senior instructing from the other end. When he was leaving consecutive deliveries in the 90s, Rahul let him be. Even when he went big off Shoaib Bashir, Rahul let him be. And when the hundred finally came, the long warm hug showed how much it meant to Pant, and Rahul, as together the two batted India into a very good position in the opening Test against England.
It was shortly after that Rahul got the chance to kiss the crest on his helmet but this partnership was more than about the individual tons. Many moons ago, the two had put on a show at The Oval in 2018 when they hit hundreds vs Joe Root & Co. but it came for a side littered with superstars, led by one of the modern day-greats, Virat Kohli.The superstars have now walked into the sunset, the greats have called it a day but Rahul, who has had a ringside view to the movements and transitions, has moved up the hierarchy. He opted for Tamil when Sai Sudharsan was in the middle, Hindi for Pant and switched to Kannada for Karun Nair. The language changed but the intention remained the same.The soft-spoken tattooed youngster is now the elder brother in a very young dressing room led by a 25-year-old captain.
