Image Source: PTI
[Saba Sports News] Flamboyant batter KL Rahul shared his journey of overcoming the perception of being a Test specialist to becoming a key player in India’s white-ball cricket. Despite debuting for India in a Test series against Australia in December 2014, it wasn’t until 2016 that Rahul started his international white-ball career. Over the years, he has become an essential part of India’s ODI squad and has played in the last two T20 World Cups, scoring 2820 runs in 75 ODIs, including seven centuries, and amassing over 2000 runs in T20Is.
As the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul expressed that many initially saw him only as a Test player, doubting his ability in shorter formats. “Initially, I was surprised I hit a six because I wasn’t a strong T20 or ODI player back then. People had tagged me as a Test match player who would never succeed in T20 or ODIs. It took a long time to break out of that mold and change people’s perceptions,” Rahul told Star Sports.
His transformation was recognized during the 2016 IPL season when he excelled with Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring 397 runs in 14 matches with an average of 44.11. “That year, after a strong performance, people began to see me as a capable one-day and T20 player,” Rahul explained.
Despite his achievements, Rahul was not selected for the 2024 T20 World Cup, as the selectors preferred Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson for the wicketkeeping roles. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar noted that Rahul’s batting position as an opener in IPL 2024 was a factor in this decision.