IPL 2022: KL Rahul has a deep-rooted belief to play longer rather than faster, says Sanjay Manjrekar
India Today
IPL 2022: Sanjay Manjrekar said KL Rahul, maybe, is not suited to take up the role of the leader in the batting unit, saying it's important for the coaches to unburden him, especially in T20 cricket.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said on Thursday that KL Rahul has a deep-rooted issue when it comes to scoring quick runs for his teams in the Indian Premier League and it's important that the coaches help unburden him. Manjrekar's comments came after Rahul was criticised for approach in Lucknow Super Giants' defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022 Eliminator on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing 208, Lucknow Super Giants fell short of the total by 14 runs. Rahul top-scored for LSG but he managed 79 from 58 balls, striking at 136. Rahul failed to be there until the end and finish it off for LSG as he struggled to make up for a sluggish middle overs period. The LSG captain was dismissed in the penultimate over of the chase after which Lucknow's chances vanished.
LSG vs RCB, IPL 2022 Eliminator Highlights
Rahul raced to a good start as he helped Lucknow post 62 in the powerplay, hitting 26 off 17 balls in the said period. However, Rahul held himself back and hit only one boundary in the next 7 overs as the asking rate was shooting up. LSG managed just 49 runs in the said period even as both Rahul and his partner Deepak Hooda were set.
As the asking rate shot up, Hooda had to take more risks and the one-dimenstional approach led to his downfall. Rahul tried to accelerate but his strange approach in the middle-overs meant there was immense pressure on big-hitters like Marcus Stoinis and Evin Lewis who followed.
"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.
"If I were the coach, I would just that decision out of his hand, even I were the captain. We have seen a lot of games where the teams would benefit immensely if KL Rahul had batted quicker rather than longer."
