Excited to have Rahul Dravid as coach, it's an opportunity to learn and understand the game better: KL Rahul

KL Rahul, India’s recently appointed vice-captain, stated that the team’s focus is on the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia in October 2022. India took a premature exit in the recently-concluded edition of the tournament, after making a shaky start as they lost to Pakistan and New Zealand.

India is set to host T20 World Cup runners-up New Zealand for three T20Is, followed by two Tests between November 17 and December 7. Ahead of the series opener, Rahul opened up on the team’s vision under new head coach Rahul Dravid, who assumed the responsibility as Ravi Shastri’s tenure ended recently, and Rohit Sharma, who has replaced Virat Kohli as the T20I skipper.

“As a youngster, I tried pick his brain and he was always kind to share his knowledge with us back in Karnataka. We are very excited to have him as we could hope to learn from him and understand the game better. He has always been a team man and that is the culture he wants to bring in here as well,” Rahul said in the pre-match press conference on Monday.

Speaking on his stint as the vice-captain, Rahul said that assisting the youngsters in coming to terms with the team environment will be his primary goal. “It will be an added responsibility but I have always enjoyed that. The most important thing is to make sure everyone who is coming into the dressing room is happy and feeling welcome. With Rahul Dravid coming in, I’m sure he’ll make that happen.”

“There is nothing new with Rohit being the captain and the stats are there for everyone to see with Mumbai Indians. He has great understanding of the game and is tactically very good. The next couple of weeks will be exciting for us to understand what kind of cricket we are going to play,” he said of playing under Rohit.

Rahul said that the team already has one eye on the T20 World Cup next year, but will ensure to “focus on process”.

“The long-term goal is focus on the World Cup (in 2022), but we will focus on the process. We will look at one series at a time and one game at a time. For a template, I think we all need to sit and decide on what brand of cricket team India wants to play to get the best performances,” he said.