KL Rahul In Good Mental Space: Team India Assistant Coach Ryan Ten Doeschate Ahead Of Ind Vs NZ Pune Test

Indian coaches, captain, and mentors are back to square one after losing the first test against New Zealand held at the M Chinaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Team India is currently behind 0-1 in the three-test match series vs New Zealand and preparations for the second game aka the Pune Test are in full swing.

During the pre-match conference, Team India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate opened up about team's middle-order crisis stating that KL Rahul is struggling to collect runs at the moment.

He added that the senior batter played fine shots and just needs to focus a bit. He also admitted that a race for a spot in the middle order is going on in the team as Shubhman Gill's replacement Safraz Khan slammed a century.

Ten Doeschate reiterated that KL Rahul is playing fine shots and is in a good mental space. He just needs one good game to get back to the scoring runs track.

In the India Vs New Zealand Bengaluru test, Rahul got out for a duck in the first innings and scored only 12 in the second innings.

"There's a fight for a spot. Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last Test. I went to KL Rahul after the last test and asked 'how many balls did you play and miss at?' He didn't play and missed one ball. That's what tends to happen when you're not getting runs," said Team India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate.

"He got two balls in the game, one down the leg side and on one that he managed to nick. So there are certainly no concerns about KL. He's batting nicely. He's in a good mental space. But yeah, we certainly have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test. We will look at the pitch now and decide what's gonna be best for the team," he added.

India vs New Zealand 2nd Test at Pune will be played from October 24 to 28, 2024.