Lucknow Super Giants‘ team mentor Gautam Gambhir said that one shouldn’t draw conclusions on the captaincy of KL Rahul based on his performance on the tour of South Africa. Under Rahul, India lost the Johannesburg Test and faced a 0-3 whitewash in the 50-over format at the hands of the Proteas.
While in the Wanderers Test, he stood in for an injured Virat Kohli, he captained the ODI team after Rohit Sharma missed out on the entire tour due to a hamstring injury. After Sharma’s return to the national setup, Rahul is now set to take charge as the vice-captain.
Rahul, in the meantime, will also represent the Super Giants in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) after representing the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for four seasons since 2018. The Lucknow-based team roped in the Bangalore-born cricketer at a price of INR 17 crores.
Gambhir backs KL Rahul to come good
Rahul has also been named the skipper of the Super Giants and has earned accolades from Gambhir for his leadership skills. Gambhir, the 2012 and 2014 Kilwinning skipper praised Rahul for showing a lot of calmness under pressure.
“Whatever I have seen of KL, he has a great, great future ahead not only as a batter but as a leader as well. Because that is a quality that very few people have – being calm and composed. When you start doing that, that reflects on the entire team as well,” Gambhir was quoted as saying in India Today.
After joining the Punjab team in 2018, Rahul played two years as a pure batter under the leadership of Ravi Ashwin. When Ashwin joined the Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the 2020 edition, PBKS named Rahul as their skipper. Rahul opened the batting for them and was their leading run-scorer in both their seasons.
However, his team failed to qualify for the playoffs both times and Rahul’s credentials as a leader was also questioned. The recent debacle against South Africa didn’t help his cause either. Nevertheless, he has made a name for himself as a dependable top order batter
Apart from Rahul, the Super Giants also roped in young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi and Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis for the upcoming IPL edition .
