“Gautam Gambhir and I can bring about a turnaround for KL Rahul” – Abhishek Nayar

India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar feels he and head coach Gautam Gambhir can help KL Rahul turn things around. Rahul returned with scores of 16 and an unbeaten 22 in the opening Test match against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, which the hosts won by a huge margin of 280 runs.

The flamboyant batter had trudged to 16 runs off 52 balls in the first innings and batted without any intent. Despite playing 51 Test matches, Rahul hasn’t produced promising numbers as he has scored 2901 runs at an average of 34.13.

“I think when you are playing for India, inspiration is not something you need,” Nayar told media on the eve of the second Test in Kanpur. “Sometimes, it’s just direction. I feel KL is… having spent a little time with him in the last few days, I think he is someone who understands his game very well.”

Nayar is hopeful that Rahul soon finds his Midas Touch at the top level for the Indian team.

“There are times when a player is finding his feet. I feel in South Africa, Rahul played some tremendous knocks for India. We are very hopeful that with the combination of Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) and myself, we can bring about a turnaround for him.”

Nayar said Rahul’s second innings approach was promising as the right-hander scored four fours in his 19-ball stay at the crease before Rohit Sharma decided to declare at 287-4.

“The way he batted in the second innings of the last game showed what we’re looking for. Even though we didn’t give him much of a chance in the second innings, his approach was promising,” the assistant coach noted. “I’m confident that going forward, the expectations from him will align with his performances.”

The second Test match between India and Bangladesh will be played at Green Park, Kanpur from September 27.