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IPL 2020: KL Rahul reacts to being named India’s limited overs vice-captain for Australia tour
The BCCI rewarded Rahul for his show in the IPL by giving him the dual role of wicket-keeper and vice captain in the T20I squad for the series against Australia. He was also named vice-captain for the ODI series.
IPL 2020 has been quite a tournament for KL Rahul. While he has dominated the run charts, leading the Orange Cap race from the beginning, his role as captain of Kings XI Punjab has taken him through a roller-coaster ride. With his team rooted to the bottom of the points table at the half-way stage, despite Rahul scoring a bagful of runs, question marks were being raised about his temperament and the ability of his team to finish close matches.
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At that point KXIP decided to bring in their trump card Chris Gayle and his arrival changed the team’s balance completely. Gayle’s cameos not just helped the team win matches, it also gave Rahul the freedom to bat with confidence and that slowly and gradually seeped into his leadership as well.
The team since won five matches in a row and are very much a part of the race for the play-offs now. The BCCI rewarded Rahul for his show in the IPL by giving him the dual role of wicket-keeper and vice captain in the T20I squad for the series against Australia. He was also named vice-captain for the ODI series.
While this elevation for Rahul is temporary as India’s designated limited overs captain Rohit Sharma is expected to return from injury at some point, the step nonetheless shows the faith the team management and BCCI has in his abilities.
“It is a very happy and proud moment. I wasn’t expecting it, but I’m very happy. I am ready for responsibility and challenge and I will try to do my best for my team as much as I can,” KL Rahul said in a video posted by his franchise KXIP.
Rahul though said that before the Australian challenge he is focussed completely on the job at hand, which is to guide KXIP to the playoffs and then look forward from there.
KXIP have never won the tournament and have made it to the final of the IPL only once in the past.
