KL Rahul had managed only 68 runs in India's latest home Test series against South Africa.
Star Team India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has notched up an excellent century to guide Karnataka into the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 semi-final. Following the feat, the batter has opened up on his preparation for India’s upcoming Test season.
His 130 against Mumbai in the fourth innings proved to be match-winning, as Karnataka defeated the side by four wickets to advance to the penultimate knockouts, starting on February 15. The 33-year-old noted that the pitch at the BKC ground in Mumbai was similar to what the national team had played on during both of their recent home Test series defeats, against New Zealand and South Africa, respectively.
“I knew that the wicket was a bit tricky. The wicket here today was very close to the Test matches that we played against New Zealand and South Africa. I remember, I had made a few mistakes, and there were a few things that I needed to work on, especially how I play against spin,” stated Rahul in a BCCI video.
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The team, which was known for creating spinning tracks at home to outclass the opposition’s batters, has now been seen to get troubled by the same. After an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash by New Zealand in 2024, the team once again suffered a home Test series defeat facing South Africa in November 2025.
This clearly indicates how important it is for the senior players in the side to take up responsibility and improve their skills against spin for the upcoming matches of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
KL Rahul also emphasised the need to get better on this aspect and revealed receiving some key suggestions from head coach Gautam Gambhir to improve his gameplay against spin. The gloveman spoke about how getting to a big score on a similar kind of surface has helped him prepare for India’s upcoming red-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
“I’ve had a chat with GG bhai as well after our game in Guwahati. He had a few pointers that he gave about batting spin. So that’s something that I have been quietly working on. I know the international Test cricket that we have next is in Sri Lanka, which will require us to play spin bowling really well,” he added.
“Then early next season is Australia that we play at home. They have quality spinners. There’s certain things about playing spin that I needed to get better at, and the game here gave me a perfect opportunity to try out my skill against spin,” concluded the batter.
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