After an uncharacteristic performance with the ball in the third Test, India eventually lost the match and failed in their task of clinching the series. The two teams now move to white-ball format with the focus shifting towards the ODIs.
With Rohit Sharma unavailable for the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, KL Rahul has been handed over the charge of the team in the absence of the full-time skipper. Rahul’s poor captaincy record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has often been observed as a parameter to judge his style of leadership.
Ahead of the first ODI of the series between India and South Africa, Rahul addressed the media in a press conference. Questions were asked about his captaincy, that too in a very blunt manner.
A reporter pointed towards Rahul’s poor show as a captain in IPL and reminded the batsman about India’s loss at Johannesburg under his leadership. “Talking about your captaincy, your IPL record is not the greatest and the first time you lead India in Test, lost in Joburg, what do you think about that?”
Rahul responded back to the journalist with a calm head and thanked him for the statistics. “Look, thanks for the stats, gives me a lot of confidence,” Rahul replied.
— Cricket fan (@Cricketfan093) January 19, 2022
KL Rahul labels Test match captaincy as a “huge responsibility”
After Kohli’s resignation as the Test captain of India, Rahul seems to be ahead of everyone in the race to become the next red-ball skipper of the national side. Speaking on the same, the swashbuckling cricketer mentioned that it will be a “huge responsibility.”
“I had not given it a thought till the names came out, till the articles or news have been doing the rounds. Obviously, I had the opportunity to lead the Test side in Johannesburg and it was something really, really special. The result did not go our way but it was a great learning experience, which I will always be proud of,” Rahul was quoted as saying.
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“To lead the country is a dream come true for any player and something special that he will cherish for a long time. I am no different. Yes, it would be a huge responsibility if given to me (being the Test captain) and it is something that will be exciting. However, I am not really looking for anything at this time but if it happens to come, I will try my best to carry Team India and Indian cricket forward to the best of my abilities,” he added.