KL Rahul’s career has been going uphill the moment he started opening the innings for the franchise Kings XI Punjab in the 2018 IPL.
Cricket news: The former cricketer has also praised the team’s calm and composed attitude
The right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman made a mockery of world class bowlers in the IPL as he batted superbly throughout the tournament and presented a strong case for his selection to the national team.
Rahul’s efforts did not disappoint the selectors as he was given the opportunity to show his class on the big stage as he was selected for the T20I and ODI series against Ireland and England.
Rahul was not selected for the first T20I match against Ireland, but in the second match he played a man-of-the-match innings by scoring 70 runs off just 36 balls.
He again proved his class in the first T20I against England as he scored an unbeaten 101 runs from 54 balls and helped his team to chase down a target of 160 runs with 10 balls to spare.
Sunil Gavaskar heaps praise ok KL Rahul. https://t.co/qQoL4RqFFu
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) July 6, 2018
The Karnataka batsman walked onto the pitch in the very first over, after the fall of Shikhar Dhawan, and showed his absolute masterclass to the entire crowd of the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester.
He calmly built his innings and later as he settled down, he began his assault on the hapless English bowlers. Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has said that KL Rahul is the next big thing in Indian cricket.
In his column for the Times of India (TOI), Gavaskar wrote, “Then came a mini-masterpiece from the bat of someone who is going to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. Right from his debut when he squared up against Mitchell Johnson on the last tour of Australia, KL Rahul has looked a class apart. The ease with which he tore into the English bowling was breath-taking and even had the Indian skipper clapping.”
He also praised the other cricketers for their calm and composed attitude towards the game. He said, “What a joy it was to see India’s comprehensive win over England in the first T20 International. It was a classy performance, as one would expect of a well-oiled super car. Even where there were moments of quite, the engine purred nicely, ready to get into top gear at a moment’s notice.”