‘Ban You and AB’: KL to Virat on What He Would Change in T20s
KL Rahul and Virat Kohli chatted on leadership and the ongoing IPL season in the Puma’s #UnitedinSport campaign.
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When asked about what he would like to change in the T20 format, KL Rahul talking to Virat Kohli jokingly said that he would ask the Indian Premier League to ban him and AB de Villiers for the next game against his team Kings XI Punjab on Thursday, 15 October, and give the next batsman chance after they both have played a certain number of balls.
His comments came after the controversy in the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad game where the umpire Paul Reiffel took back his decision of calling a wide ball after the CSK skipper and bowler expressed their disappointment when it was going to be called a wide.
In a candid chat, Rahul opened about his preparation for the IPL and captaining a side for the first time. Rahul said that it was different and a little tough for him to prepare for this season of the IPL after having no cricket for the last six months whereas they are generally well-prepared for every tournament. He also added that he had fear of injuries as they have proved to be major setbacks in his career in the past.
Talking about captaining, Rahul said, “Since it’s my first time as a captain, whatever I know about captaining is from the guys I have played under, including you and Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni). I have seen how you pull the team together. How you run the team and how you motivate them is what I’ve learned, and I’ve tried to do the same thing, while trying to stay as balanced as I can in victory and in loss.”
Taking a cue from his time at the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2016 edition, where they had to win 6 out of 7 games to qualify, Rahul said, “What I’ve learned in the first 7 games is that winning or losing is part of the game, it’s important as a leader to make sure everyone’s having fun and let everybody know what they’re doing right and what they need to improve on. It’s been a good learning for me, taking it as it comes and keep the guys in a good state of mind. I always tell the team about our 2016 year with RCB – we were in a similar position where we had to win all games. You just need to keep telling your team that things can turn around any time.”
Although KL the batsman is on top of the batting charts, his side is on the bottom of the points table after playing seven games and having won just one of them, and their sole win came against the RCB when Rahul scored a 132*.
Talking about preparation for their game on Thursday against RCB, Rahul said that he has always enjoyed playing with or against RCB and given that their only win came against them, in their first meeting. However, Kohli warned Rahul that he shouldn’t hit any shots up in the air after the latter wished that RCB can drop a couple of more catches referring to his dropped chances by Virat in that game.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are in the third position on the points table and would want to strengthen their position on Thursday against Kings XI Punjab.
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