Nobody Can Fill MS Dhoni’s Place: KL Rahul
Wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul said he has learnt a lot from former Indian captain MS Dhoni and will be looking forward to sharing his inputs with India spinners and captain Virat Kohli in the upcoming limited-overs series in Australia.
Indian wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul is all set to done the gloves in the most-anticipated limited-overs series against Australia. In a recent interaction, Rahul opened up on the former Indian captain and legend MS Dhoni.
MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 after having not featured for India for more than a year. MS Dhoni was a crucial part of team India, not just for his sensational batting abilities but for his experience as a wicket-keeper.
Speaking on Dhoni, the 28-year-old said that no one can fill the ‘void’ he left in the Indian team. He also mentioned how he learnt the role of a wicket-keeper batsman from Dhoni.
“Look, obviously, nobody can fill the place of MS Dhoni. He has shown us the way and shown the wicketkeeper batsman’s role and how it should be done. We have learnt a lot from MS Dhoni,” KL Rahul told the press on Wednesday.
Rahul further said that he has a good bond with the spinners in his team and he is looking forward to giving his inputs to them and helping his captain with his reading of the game.
“With players like Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal), Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) and Kuldeep (Yadav) and the other spinners in the team, we have a decent friendship, decent understanding in the middle. I will probably go and give them feedback as to what I feel can be a better length and better pace to bowl at. I can tell them if they are doing something wrong.
“Like I said, I have done this in one series in New Zealand, I quite enjoyed it. Hopefully, I can get better at reading the game and I can give the bowlers and the captain some good feedback from behind the stumps.”
Would Not Call My Batting Power-Hitting: Rahul
KL Rahul is in great form as he ended the Indian Premier League with Orange Cap. He was the highest scorer of the tournament with 670 runs in 14 games. Also, he was in good form for India in limited-overs series against New Zealand earlier this year. However, on being asked about his strike rate, the captain of Kings XI Punjab said he is not a power hitter and he will love to play the role his team want him to play in the upcoming series.
“I would not call my batting as power-hitting, it is not something that I am blessed with, I try to play the role I feel the team requires me to play at that moment,” Rahul said.
“I have learnt to stay in the moment, that is something I have really worked on and as you grow older, you realise that you need to keep on getting better, I am blessed that I get to interact with the best players in the world, I am always looking to grow.”
India will play three One Day Internationals (ODIs), three T20 Internationals (T20Is) and four Test matches series against Australia.
The 3-match ODI series is starting from Friday in Sydney. After the first 2 ODIs, the two teams will travel to Canberra for the series finale which will be followed by a 3-match T20I series and a 4-match Test series.
