In the fast and furious form of T20 cricket, having different sets of mind zones often drives a player to eureka. Among the Indians, Virat Kohli mastered the art — classy in Tests, gritty in one-dayers and brutal in the miniature. India international K.L. Rahul is a prospect who could carry the legacy.
The right-hander from Karnataka started off as a Test opener, but he scored on temperament; eventually, he ended up with hundreds in all three formats. He can also keep wickets.
The 25-year-old is the second-costliest Indian player — apart from Manish Pandey — bought for Rs 11 crore by Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. Ahead of the franchise’s opener against Delhi Daredevils on Sunday, Rahul enlightened Sportstar how he plans to pay it back.
Excerpts...
People usually talk about pressure when the price tag is high, but it also adds to confidence, isn’t it?
As of now, I can’t say much about pressure as the tournament hasn’t started, but it is nice to be on top of the list. It is the result of the hard work and all the performances that I have put in over the years, but now it is time to focus on the game and try to win as many games for my team.
Apart from your game, what else do you bring on table?
I will try to bring in some aggression in the team and a positive change.
And you’ll also be keeping wickets...
For now, I will be keeping is what I know. But you never know, it’s a fast game and you got to be flexible in your head. When you are playing a sport, everything is challenging. You got to accept it and enjoy the challenges.
Have you worked on anything specific to your batting?
No real changes as such, it is a situational sport, you go in and try to read the situation and see what the team demands of you. So you can’t really prepare for that. You need to ensure you are in a good position and getting the ball well, that’s the preparation you do.
How strong do you feel having Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair, your state-mates, in the same franchise?
It’s amazing that we have come so far. We all started playing junior cricket from U-13 days, we have grown up together, we played a lot of cricket together. We bring in a lot of camaraderie and understanding, hopefully we can carry that into the field and try to bring in smartness and win as many games as we can. If Karun, Mayank and I play together, it will be helpful and exciting.
Comments
SHARE