KL Rahul will be working as a captain of the Indian team with Rahul Dravid for the second time during the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa. This will be the first time that Rahul will be captaining India in a T20 game and it is part of the buildup towards the T20 World Cup later this year. This means that Rahul's tactics have to be in tune with the template that Dravid and regular skipper Rohit Sharma would have squared down on going into the tournament.
Former fast bowler Irfan Pathan, who played under Dravid's captaincy for the majority of his international career, said that he is confident that the 49-year-old would have communicated with Rahul as to how he would like the team to play.
“It is extremely necessary and the clarity would have been given. I have been saying that since Rahul Dravid has come as a coach, I have played under his captaincy, his biggest thing is the clarity of role,” said Pathan on Star Sports.
“It is not that the earlier coaches have not done that, Ravi Shastri was there and Virat Kohli was captaining, but he (Dravid) will take it one step ahead. I have full belief the communication would have happened and KL Rahul would have been told that if he is the captain, it means he is the next in line,” he said.
Rahul is leading the side in the absence of Rohit, who alongwith Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah is among the T20 regulars who will be sitting out the series. All three players will return to the Indian setup for the postponed fifth Test against England which will be played in July. Rahul has previous captained in three ODIs apart from the lone Test match against South Africa earlier this year. He led Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs of the IPL in what was their first season in the tournament.
{{/usCountry}}Rahul is leading the side in the absence of Rohit, who alongwith Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah is among the T20 regulars who will be sitting out the series. All three players will return to the Indian setup for the postponed fifth Test against England which will be played in July. Rahul has previous captained in three ODIs apart from the lone Test match against South Africa earlier this year. He led Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs of the IPL in what was their first season in the tournament.
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