Kevin Pietersen feels that KL Rahul has done enough with the bat to warrant a comeback in India's T20I cricket team.
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00:00I don't think that they've changed their way necessarily just since I've
00:06joined the franchise. They've changed, certainly KL has been playing in a very
00:12positive manner since late last year, mid to late last year. We saw how he
00:19finished off a couple of the games for India and almost sealed the deal for
00:23you guys and the Champions Trophy in Dubai. But I've had a lot of incredibly
00:29brilliant conversations with him about batting, a lot of deep and meaningful
00:36conversations because when you grow up as a youngster like he did and you get
00:42taught defense, elbow up, play in the V and then all of a sudden in your 30s you've
00:49got to change it and you've got to become a different kind of player for a
00:51different format which is evolving all the time. It's very very difficult. So the
00:58way that he has accepted that he's needed to change, the way that he has
01:02changed is of great great credit to the person that he is. He is so positive. The
01:09way that he practices, the way that he trains, the way he thinks about the game
01:12and also the way that he talks about the game. So that's KL. Ashu, what a guy. I
01:19mean he's the younger generation that grew up playing scoops and reverse wicks and
01:24flicks for six and just wants to hit sixes every ball. So he's that next
01:28generation of T20 talent and again for him I've spent a lot of time with him
01:33just trying to make sure that he practices the right way. Because a lot of
01:37these guys you can get to practice, you can try and hit sixes every ball and you
01:40can get get out a lot of times. I think the key to wanting to perform properly is
01:45to practice in the right way and that's what I've been working with Ashu on. Just
01:49making sure that he doesn't get out too many times in practice. When he hits the
01:53ball, he hits the right ball because in the match you want to hit the right ball.
01:56So those are just the small things where I'm working with him and then a lot of
02:02the other young batters as well. I'm absolutely loving working with these
02:07youngsters and Kale, the experienced players, Faf, I mean all of them. Yes sir.
02:15Yes.
02:22Yes.
02:24Yes.
02:25Yeah.
02:26Yeah.
02:27Yeah, we lost the toss. I think we were also going to chase. And I think that winning the toss was very important.
02:30Just there was Jew and I think batting got a little bit easier.
02:35towards the end. I think it was a little bit harder in the first innings for us. Just those middle overs. The
02:42wicket was dry. The Jew hadn't set yet. And there actually wasn't any Jew last night. I don't think when we
02:47finished training. So I'm not so sure whether that would have played too much of a role in what we did.
02:54Because statistics actually said for the seven games, the seven previous games that have been played here, the team
03:03batting first has won the game. So that's the first chase win. But we were going to chase this evening. And I just think
03:09conditions and the toss probably just didn't play in our favour.
03:24No, shot making, I think was very difficult on that wicket. I think the batters, if you've got Kale Rahul who's batting
03:34as that gentleman there has just talked about, at a strike rate of 160, 170, pushing 180, and he's finding it hard to
03:41find the boundary, then you've got to trust that the wicket isn't as easy to bat on at that particular stage.
03:49Hi.
03:52Hi.
03:54You've seen some of the videos you've been seeing in just what period of the event that you've been happening. Just your
04:00overall experience, like given the draft result and given the number of matches, how challenging has it been
04:06for you to maybe put your point across and think about changes in the way that batters all works? I think is it more
04:12technical or is it more mental? What kind of conversations do you see?
04:16Very, very good question. I always knew that when I was playing franchise cricket,
04:21that no particular coach could change you over that four to six week period or eight week period.
04:29And I mean, even with Abhishek, last night I was working on something. I mean, where are we?
04:33We're five weeks into the tournament. We've only got three or four weeks left of the tournament.
04:37And I said to him, I said, Abby, I said, this is not going to work for you tomorrow. It might not work for you the next week.
04:43But if you keep working on it in the next month, two months, three months, four months, I promise you this is going to help your game.
04:50And it's going to take you to a level where you're going to become a more destructive batter. So I think that's the key.
04:56Trying to lay foundations now. And then also just mentally trying to switch a few players on and make them think better.
05:02Because I think you can think better, trying to change technique and trying to give people more batting options.
05:07That takes time, right? Because it's training the brain through repetition. Whereas the mental switch, some of this stuff I've done with Ashu,
05:15just making sure that he practices the right way, having long and deep and meaningful discussions with KL about batting
05:22and the art of batting and the new way of batting. There you can have an impact. But sort of technically, these things take time.
05:32I'd back KL at four for India in t20 cricket. I think you guys have got plenty of fun.
06:01I think you guys have got plenty of opening batters, you've got Rohit, you've got Surya who bats at the top, you've got all of these guys.
06:09But the way that KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four and keep wicket for India.
06:16Yes.
06:29So, someone like you who has five years to be traded today, where do you think the damage is going, do you think the generation of man or that doesn't care, a lot of people in cricket are getting caught up, which is why they're trying to do it too much, forgetting the basic of TV website.
06:47And there's another part of it, talking about this image, this 161, 17 pages, do you think this is what you want to do when you create or actually look for the players in terms of this game?
06:59Yeah, again, a couple of very good questions. The first part of your question about the way that players are playing, I think a lot of these players are not going to play test match cricket.
07:17So, you're probably looking at it as a view and I do often as well, I look at it and I just think, like this is just crazy, some of the shots that you see and how quickly these guys play the shots.
07:27It's just, it looks like utter madness. But that's the form of the game. On wickets like we're playing on this evening, you can't play that way. And you've got to be methodical, you've got to find rhythm.
07:41Virat found rhythm this evening, KL got rhythm. And I think that's where you see the true batter, the real batter that can come out there and sort of monitor the situation.
07:53And it looks effortless because they've built a technique for 20 years, 30 years. Whereas you give the absolute belters and that's when the next generation can come in and do all sorts of things.
08:07So, is it good for T20 cricket to have the occasional wicket like this? I don't think it's a bad thing.
08:13Is it good to see the bowlers just getting, bowling and just being served up into the stands every single ball like what happened a bit last year and how it started this year?
08:23I don't think every night people want to see that. I don't know, I mean, I don't really want to see it every night.
08:29I don't know, you guys are obviously cricket lovers. The question is to you, do you want to see that every night?
08:34Or do you sometimes you just want to see something like this where it's like, it can be tight. It can be real tight.
08:40But yeah, you've also got to work out what fits for your particular team.
08:47Hi.
08:49Hi.
08:50Yeah, again, we've got a very, very good bowling line-up. We've got an incredibly long batting line-up.
09:19And I think it depends on the opposition that we're playing against. It completely depends on who we're up against.
09:31And if you have a look at this evening's fixture, the kind of players and the kind of team that Bangalore are, probably a better wicket to play them against.
09:40Whereas against KKR on Tuesday, I'm hoping it's not the wicket that we've got tonight.
09:46So, yeah, I think there can be changes. That's the luxury of playing at home.
09:53We haven't quite hit our perfect game yet as a team. So I don't really think it's the wicket that we should be discussing.
10:01I think it's more, we haven't really played that complete game. I mean, for us to be sitting where we're sitting with 12 points, knowing that we actually haven't really hit our straps in all departments, is a good thing.
10:14I think it's a good thing. I think it's a great thing. For us to have won that Super over the other evening, again, is a great thing.
10:20Tonight, the guys believed we could win, even when Bangalore were almost across the line, because of previous games that we have won.
10:27So, we haven't played our perfect match yet, and I do believe that it's coming. I really do believe it's coming.
10:34I think, just one more thing. Just one more thing. Just one more question about, you know,
10:41that project is, you know, you've seen, you know, good stuff there and it's moving, but you know, spending so much into a player and then not,
10:47not taking into the league. Is there a difference, it's just about the players, or about the combination?
10:53Because he's really good, you know, that they're doing, or someone can do really well in the middle of all places. So, any clarity?
11:01We can only play 12 players. One being an impact player. And if you can tell me where he fits in at the moment, you would help us.
11:13If you can help us play 13, 14, it would help us. One thing I can say about Natu is he's doing everything that he's been asked to do,
11:22as is all of our players. What's been so impressive about our setup is how good the guys are that aren't playing,
11:30and they know that their chance is coming. They know that their chance is just around the corner.
11:34You have a look at Donovan the other night. Donovan turned up and he faced a couple of balls against GT.
11:41And I mean, that was spur of the moment, but he was ready. It didn't work out, but he was ready. And all of our players are ready.
11:48Anything can happen again. Look at Phil. I think Phil Salt went down with a viral. We've had a few players that have gone down the night before a game
11:55because of a viral or some sort of illness. So, all our players are ready. And Natu is, again, he's chomping at the bit to get there.
12:05I mean, on commentary over the last few years, I don't want to talk about money. This competition's long gone money.
12:12In the Premier League, people don't talk about how much money the football is on. So, that conversation for me is dead.
12:19It's more about the impact of a player in a team and when the player's ready to be selected and if you can make space for them.
12:26We're lucky and we're in a good position where we've got Jake who's off the field, Faf came back today, Natu is off the field.
12:33Like, we've got some very good strength in our, really good depth in our squad.