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'Here, no one can say "this is the only way I play'": KL Rahul reveals major 'learning as leader' ahead of IPL 2022
KL Rahul opened up on his “learnings” as a leader in IPL and further talked about the difference in his role at Lucknow Super Giants.
The 2022 Indian Premier League sees an addition of two new franchises to the tournament; Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans. KL Rahul will be leading Lucknow and the side would take on the fellow debutants – led by Hardik Pandya – in its first match of the season on March 28. Rahul was one of the three players roped in by the franchise ahead of the IPL mega auction, and the Super Giants ended with 21 players in their roster for the 2022 edition.
Rahul, who had been leading the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the past two seasons of the tournament, had been one of the most consistent batters for the side. However, lack of consistent performances from the PBKS' middle-order often forced Rahul to focus more on run-scoring than big-hitting. When asked if there would be a change in his approach with a new franchise, Rahul talked in detail about his “learnings” from leading the PBKS.
“As far as the end numbers are concerned, I'd be happy if I can do the same thing as the last 3-4 seasons. But this is one of my learnings as a leader; having good and powerful players in the lower-middle order is really important for the team to be successful in the long run. That is why we have picked the likes of Stoinis, Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, and Deepak Hooda in the middle order,” Rahul told Sports Tak.
“When your middle and lower-middle order is strong, it will give freedom to the openers to be aggressive in the first six. So yes, I play that role and I'll try to capitalize on the powerplay and get the team off to a good start. But at the same time, I've been a player who always tries to play the situation. I don't confine myself to a single role. If you need 130-140 runs to win, what's the point of playing at a strike rate of 200?”
Rahul further said that team's interest will always be a priority under his leadership.
“I always think about how can I win the match for the team. I encourage my players to play the same way. We would be aggressive but we would put team ahead of the personal game. Here, no one can say 'this is the only way I can play, this is my natural game'. That is not how a team game should be played,” said the LSG captain.
