India vs Zimbabwe: How Test match specialist KL Rahul tweaked his game, cracked T20 puzzle

This was followed by a couple of other observations that Jayaraj shared with the Test opener known for his elegant carpet shots. Poor conversion rate and anxious play, the old-hand thought, was stopping Rahul to flower as a shorter-version player. “Stop worrying” – were the two words the coach kept repeating. “Look to spend more time at the wicket. Don’t look tense, don’t reaching out for deliveries and avoid ungainly shots,” he said.

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The brief conversation with his childhood coach was probably just one step Rahul had taken in decoding the T20 puzzle. However, his quest in being the versatile three-format player was not all that simple.

His immediate concerns were physical more than technical or form-related. That was because he was down with dengue in August last year. Barely had he recovered from it than he had contracted a niggling quadricep muscle injury, which kept him off the radar towards the end of 2015.

However, good news came during the IPL auctions early this year, when the RCB snapped him. The start was pretty subdued. Things changed when Chris Gayle had to leave for paternity leave. This left a gaping hole at the top of the order. Sensing opportunity, Rahul duly obliged. The 23-year-old in IPL 2016 was a more assured and refined version one saw in IPL 2015. Paying heed to his long-time coach’s advice, he looked much calmer at the crease.

Those ungainly hoick shots were discarded. They were replaced by those crisp cover drives. The zen-like approach helped. If anything, Rahul managed to add a new shot to his wide repertoire: the pull shot. He employed it with utmost disdain. Four fifties, punctuated in between some exquisite scores of 30s and 40s, took his personal tally to 397 runs this IPL.

A marked improved from the 2015 edition where he finished with 142 runs from nine games, with a personal best off 44 not out. Such was his impact this year that at one stage in the tournament, he had a better strike rate than even his captain Virat Kohli. “The best way to judge if Rahul is in form is when he plays those beautiful vertical bat shots. This IPL, he treated us to some delightful strokes. What was even better was the manner in which he brought out those pull shots,” Jayaraj says. He adds that Rahul’s evolution as a batsman would not have been complete if he had not started off as a wicket-keeper.

“It is a misconception that Rahul is a part-time keeper. He has always been a wicket-keeper who can bat. Right from the U-15 days, he has managed to hold his own as a keeper. It was only after he cemented his spot in the Ranji squad, that keeping took a back seat. Keeping helps you read the bounce and pace of the wicket, and improves your concentration,” he says.

His association with AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli also helped his game. But Karnataka’s Ranji coach J. Arun Kumar puts things in perspective when he says: “Rahul is such a keen learner of the game that it was only a matter of time before he would succeed in this format. He is such a strong guy mentally, and someone who is keen to prove his detractors wrong. But I guess the bigger point to be noted is the intense competition in the RCB squad only breeds innovation amongst players.”

His robust performances this IPL has helped him earn a spot to the tour of Zimbabwe. Going forward, both Jayaraj and Arun Kumar concede Rahul has all the strappings to prosper in all three formats. For starters, the Zimbabwe tour might just be the start.