KL Rahul. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Senior India batsman KL Rahul claimed on Wednesday that he has conquered the “mental challenge” of being a floater in the lineup and is now confident in his ability to perform well for the team in any position.
Rahul, who opened the batting in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, who was on a paternity leave, was outstanding in the first Test match against Australia in Perth, scoring 26 and 77.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rahul was asked the obvious question regarding his batting position as Rohit returned to the playing eleven for the day-night Test that begins on Friday.
“Anything (opening or middle order),” the 32-year-old batter told reporters ahead of India’s training session in Adelaide.
“I just want to be in the playing XI, which means wherever. You go there and bat and play for the team,” said the batter with 3000 plus runs in 54 Tests.

Exactly ten years ago, Rahul began his Test career in Australia as a middle-order batsman who eventually became an opener. He suffered psychologically as a result of his batting position in the Test and ODI setups being far from consistent throughout the years.
“I have batted in many positions. Earlier it was a bit of a challenge, not technically but mentally about how to play those first 20-25 balls,” he opened up about his apprehensions.
“How early can I attack? How much do I need to be cautious? Those were things that were tricky early on.
“But now that I have played in Tests and ODIs all over the place, it has given me an idea of how I want to manage my innings,” said the stylish stroke-maker, who has two hundreds in South Africa, one in Australia and a couple of more in England among his eight Test tons.
He believes that he has made Test batting easier.
“Whether I am batting top of the order or in the middle order. If I can manage the first 30-40 balls at start, everything then seems like regular batting, that’s what I try to focus on,” he explained.
Rahul disclosed that he was informed well in advance about the possibility of opening in Australia. In order to obtain valuable playing time, the 32-year-old then batted in the second match of the most recent India A versus Australia A game.
“I got told quite early as I missed out on the New Zealand (home) series, I didn’t play the last two games, I was told to be ready that there might be a chance to open the batting.
“I got a lot of time to prepare and opening is something I have done a long time in my career. I just had to go back and bat a bit more and as I said, I have batted a lot at the top of the order to know, how to get my runs and what processes I need to follow,” he said.
“I practised enough, I came here early to get some time in the middle. We played some practice games as well and it helped me in my preparation.”