I Actually Have Missed The IPL A Lot, Says KL Rahul As He Waits To Make Captaincy Debut For Kings XI Punjab

India star KL Rahul has said he was really looking forward to this year’s IPL as he was set to captain his franchise Kings XI Punjab for the very first time. The right-handed batsman was gearing up to lead a team in his career for the first time. Earlier this year, he was named the franchise’s captain after Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals.

However, KL Rahul will now have to wait longer to make his captaincy debut as the IPL has been postponed indefinitely in the light of the pandemic. The thirteenth edition of the league was scheduled to start on March 29 but the BCCI has suspended it indefinitely due to the obvious reasons.

The Indian cricket board is now looking to host the tournament if the T20 World Cup, currently scheduled to be played in Australia in October, gets cancelled due to the virus threat. The ICC is expected to take the final call on the tournament next month.

“I actually have missed the IPL a lot. It was going to be a big season for me captaining the team and I felt like we have got some really really exciting players in the line-up,” KL Rahul told teammate Mayank Agarwal during the show ‘Open Nets with Mayank’ which was uploaded on IPL’s official website.

“I was really looking forward to playing with Chris and you and Maxi and a few other guys coming in,” he added.

Gayle, who was also part of the video chat, was asked the similar question by Mayank and the West Indies legend said this was the longest he has been at home.

“I am missing cricket as a whole to be honest. This is the longest I have ever been home. Normally, I would be away playing for some franchise,” Gayle said before adding: “But for me this is the longest I have spent at home. It is life and this is just part of nature and we have to just accept it. Life goes on you know… can’t complain much.”

KL Rahul will have a major task at his hand as Kings XI Punjab captain whenever the tournament takes place. The Punjab-based outfit is still waiting for its first-ever IPL title. The franchise is one of the worst performing teams in the tournament in the last few years. Since making it to the final in 2014, the Kings XI have not progressed ahead of the group stage.

Also Read: Chris Gayle Opts Out Of CPL 2020 Due To Personal Reasons

Also Read: Cheteshwar Pujara Explains Why He Stays Cautious At The Start Of His Innings