IPL 2020 | Would love to have KL Rahul in teams across all formats, admires Brian Lara

At the age of 22, KL Rahul broke into the Indian Test team, with his scintillating display in Ranji Trophy for Karnataka. While the start to his Test career was jittery, with just four runs across two innings, the right-hander went on to establish himself in the coming years, with his graceful strokes and masterful running in between the wickets. However, after a dip in form, the right-hander was considered as a limited-overs specialist in the Indian unit, with his consistent display across formats in the Indian blue jersey. 

In 2020 alone, Rahul has scored over 650 runs in the Indian jersey, at an average of nearly 65. Coming into the 2020 IPL, he was also named as KXIP’s skipper, after Ravichandran Ashwin moved to Delhi Capitals in a trade. Since then, there has been no looking back for the right-hander, who has scored 525 runs this season and is leading the race for the Orange Cap. Former West Indian skipper Brian Lara, in admiration, stated that he would love to have the opener in his teams across all formats. 

“He’s my test batsman, he’s my 50-over batsman and he’s my T20 batsman,” Lara said on Star Sports, reported Hindustan Times.

However, while Rahul has been in glorious form, KXIP have had a torrid start to the season, with just one win out of their first seven games, where the opener was highly critiqued for not taking his team home. In the next two games against Mumbai and Bangalore, the right-hander went and led the team from the front, taking them home. 

“As a captain he has done very well. I love the way he bats, love the way he puts them together. Yes he struggled to finish off matches towards the beginning but now he’s looking to improve that too,” Lara concluded.