‘I am a huge fan of his’: KL Rahul names Team India senior he is in awe of
While he lost out on a place in the Test squad, KL Rahul has since emerged as a go to player in the shorter formats, more so in T20 cricket. He is currently India’s first choice opener in the shortest format and also donned the wicket-keeping gloves during the tour of New Zealand.
KL Rahul is one of the finest batting talents to have come out in recent times and he is finally finding his groove in the national team. Rahul emerged as a reliable choice for the opener’s slot in Test cricket as he slammed a century in Australia on the 2014-15 tour.
Mid-way through his career Rahul brought about some changes to his technique and started playing more aggressively to secure a place in the limited overs team. This eventually affected his batting in Test cricket.
While he lost out on a place in the Test squad, he has since emerged as a go to player in the shorter formats, more so in T20 cricket. He is currently India’s first choice opener in the shortest format and also donned the wicket-keeping gloves during the tour of New Zealand.
He has opened the batting with Rohit Sharma in the past and Rahul spoke about his equation with the Indian limited overs vice-captain during an interview with India Today.
“I have been a huge fan of his (Rohit’s) batting and I have played with him for a few years now but he is someone who is in the team, how do I say, like some cricketers get dumbstruck after watching Sachin Tendulkar, they don’t know what to say. When I am with Rohit off the field I have still not been able to get through,” he was quoted as saying.
Rahul went on to say that Rohit Sharma has shown a lot of faith in him and when a senior player does that it boosts the confidence of those who don’t play regularly in the team.
“...he is someone in the team who has given me that sense that he has a lot of faith in me and as a senior player I have seen that he has backed me and stood by me on a lot of instances. When senior players feel like there is a guy who can take responsibility and can be among one of the senior players that gives a young player or a player who has not played consistently for the country a lot of confidence,” the stylish batsman added.
He said that there is a lot of healthy competition among players to secure a place in the playing XI and that is what motivates them to keep doing better.
“Ever since I have come in the team in 2014, in Test matches or ODIs or T20Is there has always been a healthy competition for the opening slot or number 4 position. There have been a few slots you know that you can never take for a while at least. There has always been a healthy competition and players enjoy it as it motivates us to put harder and harder. It stops us from being lazy and complacent and that is what we are striving for. It is amazing,” he said..
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