Saturday, 26 April 2025
Saturday, 26 April 2025
In the run-up to Indian Premier League 2025, cricket freaks eagerly waited for the Delhi Capitals to announce their new captain. Having captained Punjab and Lucknow for two seasons each, KL Rahul seemed to be in contention for the role. But he turned down the skipper’s position as he wished to put his best foot forward without the burden of leadership.
Axar Patel was named the captain of the Capitals but Rahul’s name grabbed more traction on social media trends. Rahul wrote on Instagram “Congrats Bapu. Wishing you the best in this journey and always with you ” .
Case in point: KL Rahul is more selfless than you think he is.
1380km away from Delhi, in Mumbai last year around this time there was a similar buzz when Hardik Pandya’s return was conditional to him being named the MI captain. Keeping that aside, let's focus on selflessness in cricket. KL Rahul is a player that epitomises the term selfless and there is no better time to look at him as an inspiration.
Here are moments that show why KL Rahul is actually the most selfless Indian player.
Batting for Kohli’s 100 versus Australia
At the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, in the league game versus Australia in Chennai, India found themselves reeling at 2/3 in two overs while chasing a target of 200. And then, KL Rahul walked in to bat.
With 198 runs required and 48 overs to play, both Kohli and Rahul dissected the field, running ones and twos to take chunks out of the target. The duo brought up their 100-run partnership with Kohli batting on 51 and Rahul on 48. Rahul then slowed down to allow Kohli to chase after his 100. Unfortunately, Kohli was eventually dismissed for 85.
Batting for Kohli’s 100 versus Bangladesh
Another match, another chance for a Kohli 100. Despite the former India captain being least interested and wanting to finish the match earlier, it was Rahul at the other end who kept the situation set for Kohli to reach a century. Rahul, who could have accelerated at any point, allowed Kohli to end the match with a six, eventually notching up his 48th ODI hundred.
Dropped from T20 World Cup, dropped from vice captaincy
He was vice-captain to Rohit Sharma in the 2023 World Cup and yet was left out of the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup that India won. Despite that, he refrained from making any public comments. When Shubman Gill was anointed vice-captain for ODI cricket, Rahul once again said nothing but was happy for his teammate. With a cool head on his shoulders, Rahul would have been the ideal captain for India but backing the future seemed more important.
Batting position
We need someone to bat as an opener in T20s, KL Rahul will do it. We need someone to bat at number five for the entire 2023 World Cup, KL Rahul will do it. When Rohit Sharma was unavailable for the first game in the Border-Gavaskar trophy, Rahul returned to the opening slot in Tests, a slot that was originally his. Rahul outperformed the expectations, scoring 26 in the first innings and 77 in the second in India’s only win in the Test series. Rahul remained as the opener despite Sharma’s arrival for the second and third Test. Despite scoring 84 in the drawn third Test, Rahul was demoted to number three for the fourth game before Sharma dropped himself for the fifth Test
Wicketkeeper Batter
Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, two explosive left-handed batters who keep stumps for their franchises in the IPL but when it comes to ODI cricket, India’s go-to wicketkeeper is KL Rahul. Why? Because Rahul provides added flexibility -- often termed in sports as versatility. But is it versatility or maximum usage of an individual’s abilities? KL Rahul keeps for 50 overs and then waits for his turn to bat. Throughout the recent Champions Trophy, Rahul batted at number seven -- a position too low for a batter of his qualities -- when the likes of Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel were pushed to bat higher than him.
Making compromises, always
After the Koffee with Karan scandal from 2018, Rahul has gone silent rather than going vocal and a good boy image has surrounded him. Whenever India need to justify the inclusion of a youngster, it's never the bigger players making the compromise. It's always Rahul. Rahul is the easiest scapegoat both for BCCI and India. When the 2023 World Cup finals were lost, how many people pointed fingers at Sharma’s captaincy? It was always selfless captain for Sharma but then why was Rahul hounded? He had no batting partners to support him, he thought of taking the inning as deep as possible rather than attacking and yet it was him who came under scrutiny.
What do legends say ?
Navjot Singh Sidhu said "KL Rahul, you see, even the spare tyre is not used as much. You play him as a wicketkeeper, as No. 6, as an opener, then when BGT comes you play him at No. 3. Then you tell him to open. I tell you one thing. Opening in ODIs is the easiest, but doing it in Tests is the toughest. He is a selfless player."
