KL Rahul has this deep-rooted belief that he wants to bat longer rather than quicker: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India batter and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar on May 26  (Thursday) opined that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul has a ‘deep-rooted’ issue when it comes to scoring runs at a quick pace. Manjrekar also said that coaches and team management should help to unburden him from some load.

It may be noted that the Super Giants were kicked out of the tournament after losing their Eliminator encounter against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). LSG skipper scored 79 runs but took 58 balls to reach the mark. Despite being on the crease till the ending stages, the right-handed batter failed to chase down the total for his team and was dismissed in the penultimate over of the chase.

Every time he decided to play the big shot, it came off: Sanjay Manjrekar on KL Rahul

“Every time he decided to play the big shot, it came off. He played a couple of terrific shots against Hazlewood. He can do it when he wants to but he just has this deep-rooted belief or approach that he wants to bat longer rather than quicker,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

“We have seen enough of KL Rahul to now know that when he becomes this player, this captain, the key player of the side. Virat Kohli loved that kind of responsibility, MS Dhoni loved it, Rohit Sharma, barring this season, generally likes that of responsibility,” Manjrekar added.’

RCB batter Rajat Patidar was the hero for the Red Army during the first innings as he scored an excellent 100 and was also adjudged player of the match for his excellent knock. Former skipper Virat Kohli and the wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik also made some vital contributions to RCB’s total.

The Super Giants did manage to get close to the target. However, some disciplined bowling from Harshal Patel and Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood ensured that the Red Army did not lose the plot during the ending stage. RCB will now take on Rajasthan Royals in their next playoffs match.