IPL 2025: KL Rahul Thanks Abhishek Nayar for Helping Him Rediscover the Joy of White-Ball Cricket

Chennai(The Uttam Hindu):  KL Rahul played a pivotal role in Delhi Capitals' (DC) 25-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK), scoring an impressive 77 off 51 balls to propel his team to the top of the IPL 2025 points table. Rahul credited Indian team assistant coach Abhishek Nayar for helping him rediscover the joy and fun of playing white-ball cricket. On a dry pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Rahul opened the batting in the absence of the injured Faf du Plessis. After being at 25 off 20 balls, he switched gears, scoring 36 runs off the next 18 balls to finish with 77 runs. His knock, which included six fours and three sixes, was key to DC posting 183/6, a total that secured their first win in Chennai in 15 years and kept their unbeaten streak intact.

"I've worked really hard on my white-ball game over the past year, and I owe a big thank you to Abhishek Nayar. Since he joined the Indian team, we've spent countless hours together discussing how I can improve my white-ball game," Rahul said in a video chat with DC mentor Kevin Pietersen on iplt20.com. Rahul, who had missed DC's opening match due to paternity leave, returned against Sunrisers Hyderabad and contributed with a quick-fire 15 from five balls. He then followed up with his stellar performance against CSK. “After realizing how the opposition struggled and couldn’t cross the line, it feels good. But during my innings, I felt I could have scored 15-20 more runs. I remember telling you during the halfway break that I was going to look for the boundaries. I was still in, with good intent, but the timing wasn’t quite there. A short break helped, and once I found the middle of the bat, I was off," Rahul reflected. Rahul came into the IPL after a standout performance as India’s finisher in the victorious 2025 Champions Trophy, where he scored 140 runs at a strike rate of 97.90, remaining unbeaten in three innings.

He also spoke about his evolving approach to white-ball cricket, acknowledging the need to adapt to modern cricket. "Somewhere along the way, I lost the fun of hitting boundaries and sixes. I focused too much on taking the game deep, but now I’ve realized that T20 cricket is all about boundaries. The team that hits more boundaries and sixes often wins," he explained. “Now, I just enjoy the game, not overthinking it. I focus on being aggressive, putting pressure on the bowlers, and enjoying hitting boundaries," Rahul concluded.