New Delhi: Star India batsman KL Rahul is all set to embark on a new journey when he leads Lucknow Super Giants, one of the two debutants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 starting from March 26.
The right-handed Karnataka batsman is the most expensive player in this year’s edition after the Lucknow-based franchise chose him as their first pick for Rs 17 crore before the mega auction last month.
Finishers play an important role in T20 cricket and KL Rahul stressed on the need to have power-hitters in the lower-order batting who can get the job done when needed.
“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 important for the team to be successful in the long run,” KL Rahul was quoted as saying.
“That is why we have picked the likes of Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, and Deepak Hooda in the middle order,” he added. KL Rahul, who was appointed the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) in IPL 2020 has so far captained in 27 games.
He has won 11 and lost 14 of those games while two matches ended in a tie. He was also a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad previously. So far Rahul has played 94 IPL matches amassing 3273 runs.
“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?” he added.
KL 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 the 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,” concluded the LSG captain.
