KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma
KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma. (Photo: Twitter)

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said veteran Indian players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are in a different league than KL Rahul.

Rohit and Kohli endured a lean patch in the recently concluded IPL 2022 season. Both the players, who have been the torchbearers of their respective IPL teams over the years, struggled to find the momentum with the bat.

KL Rahul is a fine player and batted well on pitches where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggled: Rashid Latif

Rohit accumulated 268 runs in 14 matches at an abysmal average of 19.14 and a strike rate of 120.18 with 48 being the highest score in IPL 2022.

It was a rare instance where the MI skipper failed to score a half-century in the cash-rich league.

Kohli ended the season with 341 runs in 16 innings at an average of 22.73 and a strike rate of 115.98 with two half-centuries against Gujarat Titans.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in IPL 2021
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Image Credit: Twitter)

On the other hand, KL Rahul was the second-most run-scorer of the season with 616 runs in 15 matches at 51.33 with four fifties and twin centuries against Mumbai Indians.

Rashid said Rahul is a fine batter and talked about his batting approach during the latter’s time at Punjab Kings.

Read More  RCB vs KKR Head to Head Records in IPL- IPL 2024, Match 10

Wasn’t he playing for Punjab Kings before this? He used to bat till the 15th-18th over while Glenn Maxwell hardly faced 2 balls. The team did not qualify. Even Gayle was there but he played in the end,” Latif said on YouTube Channel ‘Caught Behind’.

Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif. Image source- 24newshd.tv

See, there is no doubt that KL Rahul is a fine player and the pitches he played on and scored hundreds, were the same where Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan struggled. Sometimes when an opener bats, he thinks it is his responsibility to bat through,” he added.

KL Rahul plays a few too many dot balls for his liking: Rashid Latif

While LSG were chasing 208 against RCB in the Eliminator game, Rahul played a tepid innings in 58-ball 79, where he played a total of 17 dot balls.

The asking rate was over 12 in the slog overs as LSG fell 14 runs short and were eliminated from IPL 2022.

KL Rahul
KL Rahul. (Photo: IPL)

Rashid acknowledged the fact that Rahul consumes a lot of deliveries on the pitch and needs to work on it.

Rahul is not like Rohit Sharma. Rohit and Kohli belong to a different league, but Rahul too is a special player. Having said that, he needs to improve a little. He plays a few too many dot balls for his liking,” said Rashid.

“Since the runs he scores are big, the balls faced a lot too. When he was playing for Punjab, I noticed the same,” he added.

Read More  "Don't know what's going to happen" - Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir clash worries ex-India pacer

Rahul will lead the Indian team in the upcoming home T20I series against South Africa, which begins on June 9. Rohit and Kohli have been rested for the five-match series.

Also Read: IND vs SA: Arshdeep Singh Is Excited To Play Under KL Rahul