‘It’s very different’ – KL Rahul on batting in the middle order under new ball rule

KL Rahul‘s ninth ODI century stole the limelight for India in the third match of the series, as he scored a brilliant 129 not out of 87 balls against the West Indies at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium, New Chandigarh, on Saturday, October 03.

Rahul has spoken candidly about the challenge of batting in the format since the ICC introduced a significant change to the ODI ball rule, which came into effect in July 2025. The rule ended the long-standing practice of using two new balls throughout an ODI innings and replaced it with a single ball from the 35th over onwards.

“It’s very different, but I’ve been doing this role for the last 6-7 years. In the last year and a half, since the ball change rule has happened, it’s been very different. It’s not been easy to get 80-90 in the last 10 overs. The ball’s been getting reverse swing, and even in this game, once the ball got old and soft, and started to reverse swing, as a batter, you don’t feel confident enough to take on the long-on and deep mid-wicket fielder if it’s a big boundary on that side,” Rahul was quoted as saying by JioStar.

The ace batter, who also is the deputy to skipper Shubman Gill, said how he transitioned into becoming a middle-order batter for the Men in Blue in one-day internationals, despite growing up while playing as a top-order number. According to the Mangalore-born, it is all about understanding the role that the team requires him to play and not how he wants to play.

“I’ve always batted top of the order, and I like the hard ball coming onto me, I can use the pace. So that’s something I’ve been working on, trying to play with softer, older balls and being able to hit sixes with that. So, that’s something I’ve worked on. I constantly try to get better within my own game, understand my role, understand what a number five and number six batter has to do to consistently put up performances for the team,” Rahul added.

Rahul is next expected to feature in the multi-format series against New Zealand, beginning later this month. The senior cricketer is expected to be a part of ODI and Test teams and play important roles in different formats and different batting positions.