IPL 2020: KL Rahul Not Bothered By Strike-Rate Criticism, Calls It 'very, very overrated'

Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul has brushed aside concerns about his strike-rate in the ongoing IPL. The right-handed batsman’s strike-rate is in focus after his uncharacteristic knocks especially in the powerplays in the ongoing tournament. Several quarters have suggested that the batsman has not been playing his usual game due to the captaincy responsibility.

On Thursday, he managed just 11 runs from 16 balls when KXIP were chasing 202 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and eventually lost the game by 69 runs. It was their fifth defeat in six games as they remain rooted at the bottom of the points table. Before that, KL Rahul had scored his slowest fifty in IPL when he scored 63 off 52 balls against Chennai Super Kings.

Even in Sharjah when Mayank Agarwal was taking the Rajasthan Royals bowlers to the cleaners, KL Rahul managed to score only 69 from 54 balls. The India star, however, is not worried about his strike-rate as he said it is ‘very, very overrated’. Speaking after the SRH game, he insisted that winning the game is his top priority and not maintaining a good strike-rate.

“Strike-rates are very, very overrated. For me, it’s only about how I can win games for my team. On a certain day if 120 can win the game for my team, I will do that. This is how I bat and I like to take responsibility. As a leader, you have to take responsibility,” said KL Rahul who is currently the leading run-scorer in the tournament.

“We all make mistakes. I am not saying that I haven’t made a few mistakes. But you learn each day as a leader and as a batter. It’s a partnership when we are in the middle as a batting group.

“Every player has different roles in the team and those roles can change in the middle with each game and with each day. So, I try to do the best I can for the team,” he added.

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