IPL 2019: Chris Gayle feels KL Rahul is the man to serve Indian Cricket after Virat Kohli

KL Rahul has seen many ups and downs in his career so far. From starting with a bang in Test cricket to seeing himself being dumped from the team altogether for a slew of low scores and then the Koffee With Karan controversy, which caused much pain to him; the right-hander has shown immense strength to make a mountain of runs in the ongoing IPL and earning a place in India’s World Cup 2019 squad.

His Kings XI Punjab opening partner Chris Gayle, however, feels that if he keeps his focus straight and remains in the zone, Rahul can emulate the current Indian captain Virat Kohli‘s achievements. Rahul has 441 runs in 11 innings for KXIP this season at a strike rate of 130.98 and average of 55.12 and also scored his first ever IPL hundred as well.

After Virat, it should be him

“KL is definitely one of the players that come to my mind (when you talk about the current India players), I hope he produces the goods like Virat. After Virat, it should be him,” Gayle was quoted as saying by India Today.

Chris Gayle, who himself has scored 444 runs with a strike rate of 162.04, has forged an amazing partnership at the top for KXIP. The team is currently placed at the sixth spot on the points table and Gayle feels that Rahul can achieve greater things if he doesn’t take undue pressure on himself.

“But it is not necessary for him to put himself under that kind of pressure, he needs to be himself, stay in his zone and try not to compete with anyone,” the Caribbean added.

The Ravi Ashwin-led team has three matches left in the league stages and need to win at least two of those to have a chance of qualify for the playoffs.

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