India vs Australia: Want to improve as an opening batsman, says KL Rahul

KL Rahul has said he is working to improve as an opening batsman and make more impact on the team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022.

The ICC T20 World Cup this year is going to take place in Australia and will begin on Oct. 16. The final will be played on Nov. 13.

Rahul received criticism following his poor run in the Asia Cup, where India failed to make it to the semi-final. He managed to score just 132 runs in five innings and was majorly slammed for his lower strike rate of around 122.22. Notably, Rahul has an average strike rate of 140.91 in the 61 T20Is for India.

"Look, obviously something that every player wants to work on. No one is perfect, everybody is working towards something, and obviously strike rates are taken on an overall basis. You never see when a batter has played at a certain strike rate, whether it was important to play for him to play at a 200 strike rate or whether the team could still have won with him playing at 120-130. These are the things that no one analyses," Rahul told reporters on the eve of the series opener against Australia.

In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, India are set to host Australia and South Africa in the white-ball series. The first T20I between India and Australia is scheduled to be played on Tuesday (Sept. 20) at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The two sides will play a three-match T20I series.

"Yes, it is something that I am working at, the roles that have been defined for each player in the last 10-12 months have been very clear, and everyone is working towards it. And, I am just working towards how I can better myself as an opening batter and how I can have an impact on my team whenever I go out to bat," Rahul added in the same conference.

Rahul, who recently returned after recovering from surgery and covid-19, also pointed out that head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma have created a safe environment where players are not scared to commit mistakes or fail.

"There can be criticism about many things. But the most important thing for a player is what his captain, coach, and teammates think of him in the dressing room. Only we know what role is expected of each player. Everyone is trying to give their best, but not everyone can succeed in each game. It is the kind of environment we have created where players are not scared to commit mistakes or fail," added Rahul.

Rahul has so far played six T20Is in Australia, the location of the upcoming T20 World Cup. His numbers aren't very convincing as he has scored 108 runs at a poor strike rate of 112.50 and an average of 21.60.