K. L. Rahul Quotes

I want to be a high-order batter in the one-day stuff, to play some long innings rather than just go in and have a swipe.

When you start off a T20 innings you want someone who is going to be hitting the top of off stump, causing problems and being quite disciplined with the ball.

Running-between-the-wickets is the ability to convert ones into twos, twos into threes, and threes into fours. And to reach the wickets on time.

If I get runs in an entertaining fashion, then great. I like to get on top of bowlers and be aggressive. I don't want to be dominated by them. Hopefully people enjoy the way I play.

In T20, even when you are in form and you feel like you are making good contributions, you are going to only face 30 or maximum 40 balls in the position where I bat in the middle order.

You have to see if the batsman is coming out, if he is staying back, what his grip is like, to gauge his intentions. A common trend I have observed is, a lot of batsmen change their grips when they are looking to hit: normally they either go high or slide their hand to the bottom of the handle to get maximum power.

The batsman does not always need to create big hits. He can hit a boundary, then pick up some singles and still gets nine runs. To avoid that, I need to plan in a way where he must look to hit wherever there is a fielder. That is what is called 'bowling to the field.'

When I was growing up, I played a lot of ten- and 12-over games, and I would bat in the middle order. I got only ten-odd balls to face, and I tried to score as much as I could. I applied the same approach in domestic and international cricket, and people were appreciating my strike rate being more than 80 or 90 in Test cricket.

When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over, or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for, say, about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out; try to score as much possible before that.

If you ask me, a batsman has very few opportunities as compared to a bowler. A bowler knows, if he gets hit for a six or a boundary, he has another delivery left to get back and take a wicket. For a batsman, one loose shot, and you are out. A bowler will always have 24 opportunities.

If you know how to score runs, you can perform in any format.

I love to score runs rather than defending or leaving the ball. That is an important aspect of my batting: I don't want to waste balls in any form of the game.

Obviously, when I go in at No. 11 it stands to reason that we will have a better chance of scoring runs or batting out time if the batsman at the other end takes most of the strike. That's because, as my place in the order suggests, he is a better batsman than me.

Tillakaratne Dilshan is innovative and scores quickly, while Upul Tharanga is neat and well organised - and left handed.

It's very important in international cricket to be able to hold a bat, not just hold up an end, but have the ability to score runs.

As an opening batsman, it's my responsibility to spend as much time in the middle as I can and try and get big scores in the first innings so that we don't have to bat in the second innings.

I have been an aggressive batsman since my school days, and I play my game as such.

In the middle order the game is a little more laid out for you, whether you are batting first or chasing down a score, so you are a bit more reactive to the situation in front of you. Opening up, it is pretty much a blank canvas and dependent on how you play.

Runs are runs, even if they are coming off playing cut shots or in front, but it's not like T20 can only be played with big shots.

I think scoring runs in the Ranji Trophy is a bit easier than in T20s because the fielders are always inside the circle at the start of the innings and look to attack. So if you push in the gap you will get runs. At the start it is not quite difficult, once you settle down it becomes easier.

For an opening batsman, it's important to hit a few balls in the middle of the bat and get a few boundaries going.

Before the match starts I visualise that I will try to rotate the strike and take singles. But if I see that the players batting before me are struggling, and the wicket is not playing that good, I try to dominate from the first ball.

Pull and sweep are two shots which can help me score runs outside India. These are two shots that can immediately put pressure back on bowlers.

You have T20 and that also plays a part in some of the shots batsmen play. You see guys playing the same shots in T20s and Tests and are sometimes lucky to get away with it.

It is scary when bowling how hard batsmen hit it now.