'There has been no competition to KL Rahul in white-ball cricket in the last 2 years' - Aakash Chopra
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that there has been no competition to KL Rahul in white-ball cricket across the world in the last couple of years.
He made this observation while picking a future 'Fab Four', which is a list of players who are expected to mesmerise audiences over the next five years, on his Facebook page.
The reputed commentator's first pick in this list was KL Rahul, and he acknowledged that it has not been easy for the latter to secure a spot in the Indian team.
"I am going to start with KL Rahul. He is still young in his career although he is 28 years old but you don't get a spot in the Indian team easily."
Aakash Chopra observed that the talented opener has had to perform wicket-keeping duties, an aspect of the game Rahul has done quite well in, to break into the Indian team.
"He is making his place by doing wicket-keeping. It is not fair on him but he has been able to do that."
The 42-year-old propounded that KL Rahul has been the best batsman in limited-overs cricket across the world in the last couple of years, considering his numbers over this period.
"The talent and the skill that he has got, if you look at his stats for the last two years in white-ball cricket, there is no competition for him not only in India but across the world. So he has been that good."
Aakash Chopra's hopes from KL Rahul in the future
Aakash Chopra expressed hope that KL Rahul would get a consistent run going forward, even in the longest format of the game.
"It is required that he gets a longer run now, gets an opportunity in red-ball cricket as well."
He opined that the KXIP captain would soon establish himself as an accomplished player in all formats of the game.
"Because in my opinion, he will become an all-weather player in all formats. And we will be talking about KL Rahul five years from now."
Aakash Chopra signed off by stating that the Karnataka batsman would leave the spectators in awe with his performances over the next few years.
"We will be absolutely overwhelmed as he would be performing so well."
Babar Azam, Marnus Labuschagne and Ollie Pope were the other three batsmen who made it to Aakash Chopra's future 'Fab Four'.
KL Rahul has scored 982 runs at an excellent average of 54.55 in the last couple of years in ODI cricket. He is also the highest run-scorer among Indian batsmen in T20I cricket in this period, with his 765 runs coming at an impressive average of 42.50.