T20 World Cup 2021: “He could be the highest run-scorer” - Aakash Chopra makes big prediction for Team India batter
Former India batter Aakash Chopra has predicted that KL Rahul could end up as the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup 2021.
29-year-old Rahul impressed in both the warm-up matches that India played ahead of their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. He spanked 51 off 24 against England and scored 39 off 31 against Australia as India won both the matches with ease.
Picking Rahul as one of the players to watch out for at the T20 World Cup 2021, Chopra explained on his YouTube channel:
“The way he is batting, he could very well be the highest run-scorer of the tournament. He is in such good nick. If India goes the distance, KL Rahul is likely to play a huge role in it.”
5⃣1⃣ Runs
2⃣4⃣ Balls
6⃣ Fours
3⃣ Sixes
What a knock @klrahul11 has played! 👏 👏
#TeamIndia #INDvENG #T20WorldCup
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Chopra also pointed out that Rahul bats a lot more freely for India as compared to his IPL outfit Punjab Kings (PBKS) because he has the license to go out and hit in national team colors. He elaborated:
“The way Rahul bats for India is quite different from the way he does for Punjab Kings. This is because when he plays for India, there is both insurance and assurance. The insurance being that he is not alone and there was many others who can keep hitting even if he gets out. There is Rohit and Kohli and, later in the order, there is SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) as well as Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya.
Leading PBKS, Rahul scored 626 runs in 13 IPL 2021 matches at a strike rate of 138.80. However, the franchise yet again failed to qualify for the playoffs.
T20 World Cup 2021: “KL Rahul is a major threat to Pakistan” - Matthew Hayden
The learning has been immense and I am so proud of the boys. Together as a team we fought and always strived to give our best. It's been an honour to lead the team and I thank each one of you for your support. 🦁❤️
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Team India will begin their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign by taking on Pakistan in Dubai on October 24. According to Pakistan batting consultant Matthew Hayden, the in-form Rahul will be a major threat for Babar Azam’s team in the mega clash.
Hayden admitted during a virtual media interaction:
“I sense that KL Rahul is a major threat to Pakistan. His dominance in the shorter format is good. Someone like Rishabh Pant, with a cheeky smile and his brash nature and beautiful vision for the game, is a destroyer.”
Rahul has a terrific record in T20Is. In 49 matches, he has slammed 1557 runs at a strike rate of 142.19 with two hundreds and 12 fifties.