"Fortunate to have someone like KL Rahul, who has a very stable and balanced head" – Gautam Gambhir hails LSG skipper ahead of IPL 2023
Global Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir has hailed under-fire KL Rahul ahead of the IPL 2023 season. The two-time IPL-winning captain said that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are lucky to have someone like Rahul who provides stability to the team.
The statement came amid Rahul’s underwhelming performance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was dropped for the third Test after scoring 20, 17 and one run in his three innings in the first two Tests.
Speaking at the launch of LSG’s new jersey for IPL 2023 on Tuesday, March 7, Gambhir said:
"We are very fortunate to have someone like KL Rahul, who has a very stable and balanced head. I wish I had it, I did not have that. I was very extreme, but it did work for me. For a franchise like Lucknow, it is important to have someone like KL at the helm. Going forward, this is going to be a massive positive for us.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator continued:
"It starts with the captain. The captain is the flag bearer of the team. It is the captain's team. All of us in the dressing room are there to support him. No support staff is under as much pressure as the captain. It is the body language of the captain that will decide how we perform.”
If ignored for the fourth Test, Rahul will next be seen in action during the three-match ODI series against Australia, which starts at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 17.
Gambhir said "We are lucky to have KL Rahul as the captain, he has a very stable head, even I wish, I could have had that especially since I was too extreme as a captain".
LSG squad for IPL 2023
KL Rahul (captain), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen ul Haq, Yudhvir Charak.
LSG will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Sunday, April 1. The franchise reached the Eliminators in the last edition of the T20 extravaganza.