I was under Virat Kohli and De Villiers' shadow in RCB: KL Rahul

KL Rahul had a terrific season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year as he slammed 659 runs in 14 games at an average of almost 55. However, the batsman, who played his first season for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in 2018, had a disappointing run in international cricket till IPL 2019. The Karnataka batsman found himself in and out of the India squad time and again as he consistently failed to score big, both at home and abroad.

The 26-year-old, showed some glimpse of form in the recent most matches against England Lions and Australia but failed to score more than four runs in the first match of the IPL against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a controversial game in Jaipur. Kings’ captain Ravi Ashwin ‘Mankaded’ RR batsman Jos Buttler in the match, earning brickbats even though they won the game by 14 runs.

Rahul, who has played for his home franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the past, feels he is a more settled player in his current franchise as he doesn’t have to operate under the giant shadows of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers which was the case in RCB.

In the 2016 season of the IPL, Rahul scored 397 runs in 14 matches for the RCB but missed the 2017 season because of a shoulder injury. The RCB did not retain him for the following year when KXIP bought him for a whopping Rs 11 crore and he paid it back by registering a heavy tally of runs with six half-centuries and ending as the third highest run-getter of the season.

“2018 was magical for me as far as IPL is concerned. With a really good and balanced team, this year also should be good. At RCB I was under the shadow of Virat and AB de Villiers and here I am the number one and that has helped,” Rahul was quoted as saying by India Today in an exclusive interview.

Gayle an incredible entertainer

“Chris Gayle is just an incredible entertainer. I told him at 37 he has rediscovered form. He said he is nearing 40! At 40 he can play like this is unreal. I am going to be far more disciplined this IPL with the World Cup in mind,” Rahul said about his opening partner Chris Gayle who was once his teammate in RCBas well. Gayle was adjudged the man of the match in the game against RR for his 47-ball 79.

Rahul is still not a certainty in the Indian squad for this year’s World Cup but the batsman is eyeing to make the most of his opportunity in the IPL.

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