The visuals of a dejected KL Rahul listening quietly as the boss of his former franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, animatedly went on explaining something after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad last year was all over on social media.

That period was quite disappointing for Rahul. Not just IPL-wise, in international cricket too he was going through a difficult phase.

But times have changed with Rahul playing a key role in India’s triumphant Champions Trophy campaign.

Lucknow is now past for Rahul, who was roped in at the mega-auction by the Delhi Capitals for ₹14 crore.

Now with a new team, he will look for a fresh start with a fresh mind. Given Rahul’s good form, the franchise has every reason to feel confident of at least a better campaign this time around.

Having said so, the big question is what role Rahul will play. Adaptability isn’t his problem, but it is for the Capitals team management
to decide where in their batting line-up will Rahul be the most productive.

He has mostly opened or batted in the top order in the IPL. Even last year, for the Lucknow franchise, he opened in all the matches, though his strike rate was of some concern in some of them.

This year, the Capitals do have the explosive Jake Fraser-McGurk at the top. So, should a solid, steady Rahul be the other opener to hold one end up and let the Australian go berserk at the other end? On his day, Rahul too is capable of going ballistic, which he has shown in the tournament’s previous editions.

Or, should Rahul be pushed back in the order in case a collapse happens, so that he can make the best use of the middle and late overs? Taking calculated risks and surprising the bowler with a big hit all of a sudden are among the other features of Rahul’s game.

“He also trains keeping the formats and specifics in mind. Not just normal, routine nets. That also helps him adjust his game accordingly,” said a BCCI official.

But will he be appointed captain? At the moment, Axar Patel seems to be ahead in the race as soon-to-be-father Rahul may go on to miss a few of the games in the latter part of this IPL.