Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has said that vice-captain KL Rahul will be fit to bat again on Day 2 after he retired hurt due to spasms on Day 1 of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Rahul had to retire on 77 after adding an unbeaten 150-run stand with youngster Devdutt Padikkal, who smashed his maiden Test hundred on Saturday.
Rahul was seen visibly in pain and was also unable to hold his bat, whereas broadcast footage later showed him struggling to climb the stairs as well and needing support from Indian team physio Kamlesh Jain as well.
“KL batted really well. I think he was getting only cramps. So by the end of the day, he was fine. Probably once you start getting cramps, you get it in the hamstring, you get it in the groin, you get it in your hand,” said Kotak after the end of the day’s game. “But at the moment he looks absolutely fine. So he should be good to go tomorrow,” he said.
But overall, Sitanshu Kotak was happy to see the flexibility in KL Rahul’s game – batting down the order in white-ball formats and opening in Test cricket as well.
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli
“See, he is someone, when he plays in one-day (match) as if you have seen him, he bats at number 6 or 5. So when you are a senior batsman, and if you are open to bat at any number and help the team, I think that is a great player to have. So for a team, he is someone who is very useful. So in a red ball match he opens, in a one-day match he bats wherever required. Now, the way he is batting, he is taking a lot of responsibilities, he is trying to create a lot of partnerships, and that is something really good to have, and he has been very, very consistent,” he further added.
However, the Galle pitch played well on Day 1, and the coach thought the deck would offer more help to spinners in the coming days as well.
“It’s on the drier side and it is a pure batting wicket now, normally it comes on to the bat very nicely, it doesn’t spin. When you are 288-2, it is a good sign for us. But it is just one day, a long way to go for us. We have to bat well tomorrow. But I don’t think it will crack,” he expressed.
“I just think it will offer more turn as the game progresses on day 2, day 3, and day 4. Day 1, batting average is like 53 here. Day 2, it goes down to 38 and Day 3, it’s something like 28. So, the overall record shows that as the game progresses, the average run for a batsman is going down noticeably,” Sitanshu Kotak concluded.
