India batter KL Rahul might be asked to open the batting in the upcoming Perth Test against Australia, considering skipper Rohit Sharma is unlikely to reach Down Under in time. The 32-year-old averages just 20.77 in Australia, having scored 187 runs in five matches. Recently, he was also dropped from the playing XI for the second and third Tests against New Zealand, after poor string of scores and Sarfaraz Khan's knock of 150 in the Bengaluru Test. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that being released by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has put pressure on Rahul and it is clearly showing in his performances.

During IPL 2024, cameras had picked up the animated chat between KL Rahul and owner Sanjiv Goenka. It was quite clear that the LSG owner was not happy with how his side performed against SunRisers Hyderabad. Recently, Rahul was also not retained by the franchise, and Goenka, seemingly took a dig at the batter, saying the franchise wanted to stick with players 'who put team first rather than personal achievements'.

Ganguly has asked Rahul to keep innovating his game and not stick to his ways. The former India captain believes that Rahul needs to look himself in the mirror and say to himself that 'he needs to play differently'.

"Yeah, confidence. He has to speak to himself. He has to speak to himself and say, just put everything behind. Ups and downs are part and parcel of sports. Confidence will go up and down. You have to bring it back by working hard in the nets. I know he has gone through a lot. Lucknow Super Giants have released him. I do not know whether they will buy him back in the auction. I am sure he will find a good team and get his worth in the IPL. But these things put pressure on players," Ganguly told RevSportz.

"In and out of the team, he is seeing young players play well in T20s. You see what they have done in South Africa. He has to change and cannot keep playing the same way and expect to be picked all the time, because somebody else will come and get picked," he added.

Needs to 'get away from everything'

Sourav Ganguly also suggested Rahul to sit with himself, and decide how he wants to prolong his career. The former India left-handed batter said Rahul has all the ability in the world, and he needs to trust his instincts.

"So, I think he has got to sit with himself and get away from everything, all his friends and family, team and IPL owners, auctions and self discover. Look at the mirror and say, I need to play differently. I need to get tough inside and fight this period. He has got a fantastic 100 in South Africa last time round. He can score hundreds in these conditions. But the mind has to believe that and the fight has to be there," said Ganguly.

The 52-year-old also believes that it would be KL Rahul who will open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Perth, if Rohit Sharma is not available. He also reckons that Dhruv Jurel would be playing in the middle order, come November 22.

KL Rahul has played 53 Tests so far, scoring 2,981 runs at an average of 33.87. However, Rahul has never had a consistent number to bat upon, as he has been constantly shuffled up-down the order.

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