KL Rahul Acknowledges Indian Batters Need Work vs Spin, Says Open To Learn From Ex-Players

Team India stand-in captain KL Rahul has acknowledged that the team batters have a significant issue while facing spinners. The veteran cricketer is keen to fix the problem and is also open to receiving expert advice from former professionals like Sunil Gavaskar.

The Indian cricket team's struggles against spin bowlers were evident in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj obliterated the Indian batters during the red-ball series, and the Proteas Men secured a historic whitewash over the Men in Blue.

It was an embarrassing situation for Team India as they were losing their dominant grip on red-ball cricket. Even though the team remains in a transitional phase, the series defeats against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia will pose a big question over Gautam Gambhir's strategy in red-ball cricket.

KL Rahul Admits IND Batters' Woes Against Spin, Welcomes Guidance from Ex-Players

KL Rahul pointed out that it will be critical for the players to recognise their shortcomings against spin and figure out ways to address the issue individually.

The veteran wicketkeeper-batter admitted that he had no answer to it and that addressing the problem cannot be done overnight. But Rahul said that the players have begun figuring out ways to improve their game against spin bowling.

"I can’t give a definitive answer. I can only say that we obviously couldn't play well in the first two series against spin bowling, and we understand and recognise that this is a part of our game. As batsmen, it is part of recognising and realising that we are not playing well against spin bowling. So if we can learn from Gavaskar sir, we are already trying to find ways of how we can play better against spin bowling, so that won't happen overnight.

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I don't know the answer to why we used to play earlier and why we don't play now. There are many reasons for this, but we can only think how we can play better as players individually, and how we can get better," KL Rahul said at the pre-match press conference.

India Slips To Fifth In ICC WTC Standings Following Whitewash Defeat

The latest series defeat to South Africa has slipped India to the number five spot in the ICC World Test Championship Rankings. With four wins, four losses and a draw in nine matches, India now has a 48.15 PCT.

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Teams like Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan currently outrank the Men in Blue in the standings. India would have to push for a fightback in all of their upcoming red-ball fixtures in the future.

With white-ball cricket now in focus due to the T20 World Cup, the BCCI selectors, coaching staff and the captain would have time to improve the shortcomings and bounce back in style.