All eyes will be on KL Rahul in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he will be leading Kings XI Punjab. It will be his first stint as a captain in the IPL. He will be keen to justify the responsibility given to him by changing Kings XI Punjab’s fortunes in the tournament. Kings XI Punjab are one of the three teams who are yet to win the IPL.
Since making it to the first-ever final in 2014, they have not made it to the playoffs. On the other hand, KL Rahul has done extremely well in the last two seasons for the franchise. He scored 659 runs in 2018 at an average of 54.91 and 593 runs in 2019 at an average of 53.90.
He will be looking to put up a similar or even a better performance as captain this year. And one of his most important players this season will be his former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Chris Gayle. KL Rahul and Gayle form a formidable opening partnership and their performances will be key to the team’s fortunes.
And before the start of the season, KL Rahul has made it pretty clear that Gayle will play an important role for the team. Hailing him as one of the best T20 players by far, the Kings XI Punjab skipper said his impact for the team is known well within the dressing room.
“To have somebody like that, just the name itself, it shakes up an opponent and has so much impact. And what Chris has done for the teams he has played with, and Kings XI, is really, really unbelievable. If you were part of the Kings XI dressing room you will know what kind of impact he has had,” Rahul told ESPNCricinfo.
He further fired a warning at the IPL teams, saying that no opposition could stop Gayle once the left-handed batsman gets into his elements. The wicketkeeper-batsman also said that having a player like Gayle in the team is a blessing.
“He is somebody who is very, very open to talking to youngsters and helping other people out. He comes in with so much T20 experience. He is by far one of the best T20 players ever. You know that when he walks in and when it’s his day, no matter how good the bowling line-up or an opponent, he will take them down and he will win the match. So to have somebody like that is a blessing,” said Rahul.