In the beginning, cricketers thought KL Rahul could only play red-ball cricket well. But he shocked himself by hitting a six. Rahul said he didn’t think he had power-hitting skills early in his career. However, he proved them wrong by smashing the ball over the boundary line. The Lucknow Super Giants captain had to work hard to develop his big-hitting abilities.
Speaking with Star Sports, KL Rahul explained how he had to work really hard to adapt his style to the demands of white-ball cricket. This is what he said:
“Initially, I was surprised I hit a six because I wasn’t a strong T20 or ODI player back then. Ek tag bhi lag gaya tha ki ye Test match player hai, ye kabhi T20 ya one-day nahi khel paaega (I had also received a tag that I was just a Test match player and that I wouldn’t play T20 and ODIs).”
KL Rahul
Here’s the video:
KL Rahul said it took a while to step out of his ease zone and change how people saw him. They thought he could only play test cricket. He scored few runs for SRH in IPL 2014 and 2015.
KL Rahul on his breakout IPL 2016 season
KL Rahul was a key player for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during IPL 2016. He batted in the middle order most of the time. Rahul scored 397 runs in that season. His average was 44.11 runs per match. His strike rate was 146.49. Rahul said that the IPL 2016 season changed how people saw him as a player.
On this, Rahul stated:
“In 2016 when I played the IPL, I had a very good year with RCB and after that I think people started seeing KL Rahul as a one-day and T20 player as well. So after quietly working hard for many years behind the scenes, I got my spotlight.”
KL Rahul
RCB reached the final in 2016 but lost to SRH in the last match at home. After that, Rahul joined Punjab in 2018. Then, in 2022, he became the captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). LSG still has a good chance to make it to the playoffs this season, which would be their third time in a row.