Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain and current Director of Cricket for Delhi, expressed his desire to see LSG skipper KL Rahul adopt a more aggressive approach in T20 cricket, similar to his recent performances for Lucknow in the IPL 2024 season. Ganguly emphasized Rahul’s exceptional skill and suggested that embracing a fearless mindset would enable him to excel and assert his dominance in the shortest format of the game.
KL & Mahi, Then & Now 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/ODi2NqITcm
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) April 22, 2024
Reflecting on his conversation with KL Rahul during the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, Ganguly advised the wicketkeeper-batsman not to be overly concerned about getting out, especially given India’s strong batting lineup.
Ganguly’s Advice To KL Rahul
“But for India, the most important thing in T20 cricket and I said that to Rahul in Australia (T20 World Cup) also, just play without fear. Just go and hit. There is long batting. You can always control if you lose wickets, but just go and hit,” said Ganguly
“I think it (change) depends on what the captain and the coach instructs him to do in the middle. The other day I saw him play an innings against Chennai, which Lucknow won, I thought he was exceptional. He played well at the top of the order and did exactly what was required to do at that moment.
“As I said, it’s about playing freely and playing without fear. That is a must in T20 cricket. Players like Virat, Rohit, Rishabh (Pant), Rahul, Surya (Yadav), Hardik (Pandya), Shivam Dube of CSK. They are exceptional talent, the six-hitting ability in all of them is enormous.” He added.
KL Rahul received criticism for his slow innings of 33 runs off 31 balls against Gujarat, despite Lucknow’s victory in that match. However, he bounced back in the subsequent games, scoring 39 runs off 22 balls against Delhi and 39 runs off 27 balls against KKR. Unfortunately, Lucknow lost both matches as Rahul couldn’t convert his starts into substantial scores.
Learning from his errors, Rahul displayed an outstanding performance against the Super Kings, smashing 82 runs off just 53 balls, including three sixes and nine boundaries. His remarkable innings played a pivotal role in Lucknow’s successful chase of 177 runs within 19 overs.
Rahul’s improved striking ability in the past three matches has positioned him as a strong contender for a spot in the Indian T20 World Cup squad. His versatility in both batting and wicketkeeping may prove advantageous when the selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, convenes to finalize the squad for the World Cup, commencing on June 1.
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