ENG vs IND 2019: KL Rahul And Kuldeep Yadav Excite Me: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav excite him more than India skipper Virat Kohli.

Rahul has been in stunning form since this year’s Indian Premier League where he played for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). The Karnataka-based batsman Rahul opened the innings and scored a staggering 659 runs in 13 games including a 14-ball fifty which is the fastest-ever fifty in cash-rich league’s history.

He, however, was surprisingly left out from the playing eleven for the first Twenty20 International against Ireland. The chance came in the second game, and he capitalised by scoring 70 off just 36 deliveries. The stunning display helped him retain his place in the playing eleven for the first T20I against England and continued his red-hot form with the bat.

Rahul slammed an unbeaten 101 off 54 balls, as India chased down 160 with ten balls to spare.

Overall, he scored 126 runs in the T20I series. He was later named in the Test squad and many including Ganguly believe he should open the innings ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.

“Virat Kohli – everybody is aware of him, but KL Rahul excites me. He’s a seriously good player, a player who’ll score runs everywhere, in all formats,” Ganguly told Cricbuzz. “The time that he has to play his shots, especially fast bowling. The knock he played (in the first T20I against England), it was outstanding.

Even Rohit Sharma was batting at the other end, and I’m not comparing. Rohit has a remarkable record in the shorter formats of the game. Maybe it was one of those days where he was not being able to hit the gaps – it happens when you’ve played the game for a long period of time. But Rahul never looked out of place. He’s shown the world,” he added.

Sourav Ganguly further praised Kuldeep and said the spinner can win Tests for India overseas.

The chinaman has been turning heads with his sensational performances in England so far. He arrived in England after picking up seven wickets in the two T20Is against Ireland. In the first T20I, he picked his career-best five for 24 to leave England perplexed. None of the English batsmen looked comfortable against him as he runs riot.

He also impressed in the ODIs. In the first game, he dismissed Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and David Willey to finish with career-best figures of six for 25. In the second game, he took 3 wickets.

“He excites me and Kuldeep Yadav excites me. He’s tremendous. Kuldeep has got the ability to win you Test matches overseas. I think that’s important,” Ganguly said.

Meanwhile, the five-match Test series will get underway in Birmingham on August 1.