Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that KL Rahul’s performance for King XI Punjab (KXIP) as a captain can bring him in the choice for the future Indian captain.
Expectations are high from KL Rahul as he set to play his maiden season as a captain of KXIP. He has never lead a franchise in the IPL history. Sunil Gavaskar reckons that Rahul has a great opportunity in the IPL 2020 to prove his mettle.
The veteran said that by scoring runs as well as leading the team from the front, the wicketkeeper-batsman will be in the front race to become the vice-captain of the Indian team.
“There is a great chance for KL Rahul to show that he can score runs when given the responsibility. Secondly, he can show that he is capable of captaining a side and how he moulds his team and extracts effort. If he does that well he can even go on to become the vice-captain of the Indian team,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
IPL 2020 huge tournament for KL Rahul as skipper: Sunil Gavaskar
Although several senior players are already in Team India, Gavaskar said that in the future, KL Rahul can also become the captain of the national team. He expressed that IPL 2020 will be a huge tournament for the 28-year-old.
“There are still players in the Indian team like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. But going forward, he can be an option for the selection committee and can also become India’s future captain. So this can be a huge tournament for KL Rahul as a skipper,” Gavaskar quipped.
KL Rahul has one time captained the team that was during the last T20I match against New Zealand this year in February. Under his captaincy, India won that match subsequently winning the series. He was also adjudged with Man of the Series.
Meanwhile, KXIP will play their first match against Delhi Capitals on 21 September as the league is set to begin from 19th September.