KL Rahul is a special player but not in the same league as Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli: Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said that KL Rahul is a special player but asserted the star opener isn't in the league of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma at the moment.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes that KL Rahul is a special player but he is not in the league of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma yet. Latif also criticized Rahul for his not-so-impressive strike with which he scored runs in the recently-concluded IPL 2022 season for Lucknow Super Giants.

Rahul has been one of the most consistent run-scorers in the recent past in the IPL. He has gone past the 600-run mark in 4 of the last 5 seasons, but his strike rate has been a cause for concern. The LSG captain scored two hundreds against the Mumbai Indians and as many half-centuries in the recently-concluded IPL 2022.

"Wasn't he playing for Punjab Kings before this? He used to bat till the 15th-18th over, while Glenn Maxwell hardly faced 2 balls. The team did not quality. Gayle was even there but he played in the end. See, there is no doubt that KL Rahul is a fine player, and the pitches he played on and scored hundreds were the same where Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan struggled. Sometimes when an opener bats, he thinks it is his responsibility to bat through," Latif said on the YouTube Show 'Caught Behind'.

Rahul remains a player who prefers to bat longer, deep into the game, than to score runs quickly by taking a few risks.

"Rahul is not like Rohit Sharma. Rohit and Kohli belong to a different league, but Rahul too is a special player. Having said that he needs to improve a little. He plays a few too many dot balls for his liking. Since the runs he scores are big, the balls faced a lot too. When he was playing for Punjab, I noticed the same," Latif added.