IPL 2025: 'Realised I Need to go Back' - KL Rahul Opens up on His Change of Approach in White-Ball Cricket

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KL Rahul has opened up on what made him realise the need to transform his game in white ball cricket after wasting no time making an impact in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 following his delayed entry due to paternity leave during Delhi Capitals' (DC) first two games.

After his cameo of 15 from just 5 balls in his debut match for DC against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Rahul scored a match-winning 77 off 51 deliveries against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday (April 5) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, helping his team win their third successive game.

Since IPL 2019, Rahul hadn't crossed a strike rate of 138.8 in any season. His intent had particularly dipped in 2020 (129.34) and 2023 (113.22), even though he consistently scored between 520 and 670 runs in every full season except 2023, where he featured in only nine matches.

The change of environment - moving to DC and playing without the burden of captaincy, unlike his time with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) - seems to have liberated him. The 32-year-old anchored the innings while bringing in the boundaries at frequent intervals.

After a power-packed performance in Chennai in a knock that included 6 fours and 3 sixes, Rahul revealed to DC mentor Kevin Pietersen that he had lost fun of scoring boundaries and wanted to always take the game deep.

"I think somewhere along the way [in my career] I lost that fun of hitting boundaries and hitting sixes. I wanted to take the game deep, deep, deep and that [approach] somehow stuck in my head," Rahul said in an interview with Delhi Capitals mentor Kevin Pietersen on iplt20.com following the win over CSK.

"But now I have realised I need to go back... cricket's changed, and T20 cricket, especially, is only about hitting boundaries. The team that hits more boundaries and sixes ends up winning the game.

"So back to enjoying my cricket. I am not thinking too much about the game, not thinking about taking it deep or none of that stuff. Just see [the] ball and try and be aggressive and put the pressure on the bowler and the opposition and just enjoy hitting boundaries," he added.

Rahul also credited Team India assistant coach for playing a big role in his transformation and emphasized the need to change is approach especially in the ever-evolving T20 format.

"I've worked really hard on my white-ball game the last year or so. Big shoutout to Abhishek Nayar. I've worked a lot with him ever since he's come into the Indian team," Rahul added.

"We've spent hours and hours together talking about my white-ball game and how I can be better. We worked hours and hours together in Bombay and somewhere I have found the fun playing white-ball cricket."