"We Still Haven't Seen, What He Can Achieve In His Batting": Gautam Gambhir On KL Rahul

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has showered praise on Indian wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul and he is expecting Rahul to have an exceptional Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 UAE Leg.

Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul scored 331 runs at an average of 66 and strike rate of 136 in 7 games in the first phase of IPL 2021. Also, Rahul was able to smash 4 half-centuries during that period.

“We haven’t seen the best of KL Rahul. Yes, he has got runs, but we still haven”t seen, what he can achieve in his batting,” Gambhir told Star Sports show Game Plan.

“You could have a season like Virat Kohli had once. He’s that kind of a player in white-ball cricket, where he can get 2-3 hundreds in a season and at a very good strike rate as well,” he said.

“They are going into conditions that are suited to their fast bowling”: Gautam Gambhir on Mumbai Indians

Gautam Gambhir believes that conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will favor a lot to the 5-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.

“When you see the conditions in Chepauk or Delhi, they are completely different from what you get at Wankhede. And, as I mentioned, they are going into conditions that are suited to their fast bowling – people like Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult,” Gambhir said.

Further, Gambhir added that Mumbai Indians have quality pace battery which is a big advantage for them. Also, he feels that players like Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya who struggled in Chepauk might get back into form.

“There will be swing upfront, so they will be very dangerous. Plus, Mumbai wants balls to swing and you’ve got quality fast bowlers and it’s going to be an advantage for them.

“Plus their batters, want the balls to come on to the bat as well, people like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, all those guys struggled at Chepauk, because it was gripping and turning.”

“There’s going to be a challenge for Virat and there’s going to be a huge challenge for AB de Villiers”: Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir opined that Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli and his comrade AB De Villiers will face a big challenge in the tournament. He feels that ABD and Kohli need to have a good season if RCB wants to clinch the title for the very first time.

“There’s going to be a challenge for Virat and there’s going to be a huge challenge for AB de Villiers as well because he will be coming into the tournament without playing any cricket at all.

“Virat Kohli will have to adjust really quickly because there”ll be hardly any time for him to get used to it.

“From the five-Test-match series to the T20 format, and AB as well, because these guys need to get runs if they have to have a chance to first qualify for the playoffs and then probably go on to win the title.”

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