KL Rahul Did Not Let Captaincy Affect His Batting In IPL 2020: Ajit Agarkar

Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul did not enjoy the best tournament as its leader, leading an IPL franchise for the first time in IPL 2020. While Kings XI Punjab missed out on reaching the playoffs, it did not fare the worst as they currently are sixth on the points table. Nevertheless, the right-handed batsman continued his imperious form with the bat which former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar has with the bat.

KL Rahul leads the chart for the highest run-getter in IPL 2020 with 670 runs in 14 games at an average of 55.83. It consists of a century and five fifties, maintaining a strike rate of 129.34. The 28-year old might well take the Orange Cap home since the next best is at 471 at present, who is Delhi Capitals’, Shikhar Dhawan. KXIP bowed out of the tournament on Sunday due to a loss to Chennai Super Kings by nine wickets.

Ajit Agarkar reckons that by appointing KL Rahul as the vice-captain for the white-ball squads for the tour of Australia, the selectors are looking at him as a full-time skipper. The Mumbai-born cricketer observed that despite captaining in a high-pressure tournament and for the first time, the 28-year old has not led the pressure get to his batting. Agarkar said that he has similarly made the same runs, which is a massive positive sing.

“The way the selection has happened it shows that the selectors are thinking about him like that. The biggest thing has been that his form has not been impacted by captaincy. t is a very high pressure tournament, when you are a young captain leading for the first time and don’t have that much experience, then your form can suffer and your game can go down, but that has not happened with him. He has made the same runs and batted in a similar fashion. So that is a big positive for any player, which means he is handling pressure very well,” Agarkar stated in the Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

Ashish Nehra’s take on KL Rahul’s captaincy:

Yet another former Indian seamer Ashish Nehra added that it is challenging for a candidate, who is captaining an IPL franchise for the first time. Since the player will make good as well as bad decisions; hence, it is tough to judge anyone as a leader in one tournament. Therefore, Nehra expects KL Rahul to learn and grow as quickly as possible.

“It is not easy for anyone as a captain because this is his first year as a captain and straightaway in a high pressure tournament like the IPL. So it is very difficult to judge anyone as a captain in one tournament. You will take good decisions, make mistakes as well and you will learn from that only. So the expectation is that the earlier he learns, the better,” Nehra mentioned.

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