"No Shame Or Ego": KL Rahul's Post-Match Remarks Reveals A Lot About Indian Dressing Room
India registered a dominant 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series in Galle on Wednesday.
- India won the first Test against Sri Lanka by 165 runs in Galle
- KL Rahul praised the Indian team's positive culture and open dressing room
- "There was no shame or egos in players to say I can't learn something from you," said Rahul
India registered a dominant 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series in Galle on Wednesday. Chasing a target of 372, Sri Lanka were comprehensively outplayed by spinner Manav Suthar, who claimed a 10-wicket match haul and played a pivotal role in bowling the hosts out for 206. Apart from Suthar, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul also made significant contributions to India's emphatic win. Speaking after the match, Rahul highlighted the positive culture within the Indian dressing room and praised the team's ability to step up in challenging situations.
As the senior-most player in the side, Rahul expressed his delight at seeing young talents make an immediate impact and establish themselves at the highest level. He also revealed that the Indian dressing room remains an open environment where players are encouraged to communicate and share their views freely.
"I think it's every player's responsibility to help another player out whether you're older or someone who's just 26 but played 20 Tests it's everybody's responsibility to help your fellow teammates." Rahul said during the post-match press conference.
"Even when we had players who played 60-70 Test matches and I only played 20 or 30 Test matches there was no shame or egos in players to say I can't learn something from you or to say he's played so many Test matches so I can't go and talk to him. So it's always been an open dressing room and people are learning from each other." Rahul said seniority is not a hindrance to continue the learning process.
"I might learn a thing or two from a newer player. Now, I speak to Jaiswal about sweeping and reverse sweeping and what he thinks and he'll share his thoughts. But their mindset is slightly different to mine and mine might be slightly different to someone else. So, it's just what has always happened, not just in this change room," he added.
Rahul further praised Suthar, saying the left-arm spinner has consistently managed to hit the right areas, making life difficult for batters and keeping them under constant pressure.
"I think he's very consistent from the same place, just using subtle variations he's able to do that through the day. So, batsmen will also think that if he's not moving then I'll have to do something so when you get a batter in that sort of mindset you'll win the contest.
(With PTI inputs)
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KL Rahul