IPL 2022: KL Rahul Suddenly Became A Batting Beast In Six Months: Virat Kohli On Rahul's Transformation As A Cricketer

KL Rahul will be leading Lucknow Supergiants in IPL 2022. He was one of their first three draft picks. The franchise picked him at INR 17 crores along with Marcus Stoinis (9.2 Crores) and Ravin Bishnoi (4 Crores). They also announced him as the skipper ahead of the new season.

KL Rahul bossed the batting charts in the IPL after he played four seasons with Punjab Kings. In four seasons he scored 2548 runs in 55 games for the franchises which included three 600-plus seasons. Rahul parted ways with Punjab after 2021 and was picked by the Lucknow franchise.

KL Rahul Never Looked Like A T20 Specialist: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli talking to the RCB podcast remembered seeing KL Rahul for the first time in 2013. From there on he made his Test debut for India in 2014. After playing a season at SRH in 2015, Rahul came back to RCB in 2016. That season he scored 397 runs in 14 games finishing as the third-highest run-getter for his franchise. Overall he scored 417 runs in 19 games for RCB.

“The only two people who come to mind for me are KL (Rahul) and Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal). KL Rahul was at RCB in 2013 along with Karun and Mayank. KL Rahul was never a guy who was looked at as a T20 specialist. He was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015 and Avinash Vaidya was our manager before.

He approached me because he was in touch with KL Rahul, and he was not getting any game time. And I had seen him play for India,” said Kohli on ‘The RCB Podcast’.

Virat Kohli further spoke of Rahul catching his attention in his debut season for India in 2014. He said that he was very impressed by his body language and confidence.

“We wouldn’t spend so much time with each other. I had seen him play in Australia in 2014 when he made his Test debut and I felt like, ‘Wow! He’s seriously worked some wonder on his game.

“He’s come back as an amazing player, and he started off so strongly in Australia.’ I was very impressed with his body language, his confidence, his demeanor,” he said.

The former Indian skipper then looked back at KL Rahul’s 2016 IPL season when he batted brilliantly for RCB. Rahul missed the 2017 IPL season due to a shoulder injury after which he joined Punjab Kings in 2018.

“He doesn’t need to be the focal point or that youngster who has to prove himself. It’s all about being a part of this great team and showing what he can do.

“And the way he batted that season, for me, that was a great transformation of seeing a player who was just there and there about to becoming suddenly this beast in six months’ time. From there on he’s carried through,” Kohli concluded saying.

Also Read: Ravindra Jadeja Reveals How Suresh Raina Convinced Him To Get Special Hairstyle During His 1st Year With CSK