KL Rahul Who Cherishes White-Ball Cricket Recalls His Ordeals

The new batting sensation of India, KL Rahul is one amongst the mainstays of Indian batting. However, it was Indian Premier League (IPL) that turns on the fortunes of KL Rahul. So much so, he is the safest option to pick in the white-ball cricket.

There is no second opinion that cash-rich IPL turned the fortunes of many cricketers. However, Rahul shares the similar fate as the rest of the group who got exposed on a positive note due to the most celebrated league across the cricketing globe.

The opening batsman of India Rahul would not have even thought in dreams that someday he will be signing the contract worth of two million to play in the league.

When it comes to bringing incentives in Indian cricket, IPL is the brand, and that is fundamental to take in a nutshell.

In the IPL 2014, the rookie batsman from Karnataka signed a deal of INR One with the Hyderabad based franchise. Due to his blitz figures, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bagged him in IPL edition 2016.

Despite his excellent form, his stats remain overshadowed due to the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle in the side.

In a candid chat with Cricbuzz, the opening batsman of India shed light on many important aspects. Regarding his IPL journey, Rahul said,

“It has been a tough journey for me those 2-3 years, to completely change the way people look at me and to even bring belief in my own teammates that I can perform in all three formats,” he said.

The 2016 season of Indian Premier League for KL Rahul:

However, it was 2016 season of IPL, which helped KL Rahul to prove his critics wrong. He got under a lot of limelight and to dilute the tag of ‘Test batsman.’ He confirmed that he is the tailor-made cricketer for the shortest format of the game with his hard-hitting techniques.

“I had to kill so many demons in my own head and prove so many people wrong, and I realized that even if you’re branded, don’t take it seriously; take the criticism, use that anger and channelize it into working twice as hard on yourself,” he remarked.

In the edition of 2018, he received one of the fattest paychecks as he got a whopping amount of INR 11 crore. It was Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), who brought Rahul. He scored the fastest fifty of the IPL history in his first match for Punjab.

On his say over the cricket balls, Rahul talked about his horrible debut followed by a delightful ton in the next match. He made his debut against Australia and scored a duck in it. In the next game at Sydney, he slammed his maiden ton.

“The first 15 overs is the hardest period with Kookaburra balls since there’s a lot of seam movement; but if you get through that time, from 20 to say 40-50 overs, it’s the best time to bat,” says Rahul, about opening the batting in his redemption innings at the SCG. “There’s no other ball better to bat against, whatever the conditions. Later on, there’s a little bit of reverse-swing again,” he concluded.

In conclusion, KL Rahul has a lot to do to prove himself as the white-ball cricket player owing to the long run in the international fold.