KL Rahul breaks silence on becoming India’s captain for South Africa ODIs: ‘Just a day before the announcement…’ | Cricket
With Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer both out injured, KL Rahul will be leading Team India in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning November 30 in Ranchi. The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter was nowhere in the captaincy scheme of things with Gill and Shreyas being appointed skipper and vice-captain for the previous ODI series against Australia, but with both suffering unfortunate injuries, the selectors named Rahul to take the all-important job.
KL Rahul will be leading India in the three-match ODI series(PTI)
Shreyas suffered a life-threatening injury in the final ODI against Australia, while Gill suffered a neck injury in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Rahul is no stranger to captaincy, having previously led the side in 12 ODIs, with the team emerging victorious on eight occasions.
Ahead of the first ODI against the Proteas, Rahul revealed that he was told that an opportunity might come his way to lead the side, just a day before the official announcement of the squad.
“Just a day before the announcement, I was told that the opportunity might come, and I might have to lead. I have captained the side before, and it’s something that’s very exciting. I look forward to enjoying that responsibility. I look forward to going out there and making the right decisions for the team. That’s about it. I don’t think too much about it,” Rahul told reporters on Saturday.
“I obviously have Rohit, Virat, Jaddu, all the senior players around me who will help out. How we’ve all played our cricket is to think of it as if we’re all leaders, and we try to do the best for the team. I think that continues whether I’m the captain or someone else is the captain. It’s always a collective effort and collective effort to do something in a direction that we have a bigger goal. The right direction is for the ODI team and for Indian cricket. That’s what we all try to do,” he added.
Rahul also said that his team would look to move past the recent 0-2 drubbing at the hands of South Africa and play some good cricket in the ODIs against the Proteas.
“The players are different, the setup is different. We won’t carry that. Obviously, the Test team will be disappointed and hurt that we couldn’t do well in Guwahati and Kolkata. But it’s important that we forget that and focus on this series,” said Rahul.
“We haven’t played a lot of one-day matches since the Champions Trophy. So, it’ll be important that we catch that rhythm and try to get that momentum of playing one-day cricket and performing in ODI cricket,” he added.
Will bat at No.6
The right-handed batter, 33, also confirmed that he would be batting at the No.6 position in the ODIs against South Africa. “I have been playing at number 6 since the Champions Trophy, so I will be batting there,” said the wicketkeeper-batter.
However, the stand-in captain remained tight-lipped when asked whether Rishabh Pant would make the playing XI for the first ODI or not. It is worth mentioning that Pant was there in the Champions Trophy-winning squad, but he did not play a single match.
“We’re still discussing. Obviously, we haven’t got that much time from Guwahati to come here to have conversations and fix our 11. We’ve had a few conversations, me and GG bhai. We’ll probably have a little bit of a conversation right now and finalise it. Today, probably in the evening, and let the players know whoever is playing to be ready,” said Rahul.
“He’s been with the team for a long time. Everyone has seen what he brings and what he can do for the team. As I told him, the players who are already in the team and who are performing, sometimes you just have to wait for your opportunity. You’ll find out tomorrow who will be left behind. Obviously, he’s good enough to play as a batter as well. But if he’s in the 11, he’ll take the gloves, and I’ll be in the field,” he added.
