New Delhi: As KL Rahul stepped out of the Ferozeshah Kotla dressing room, the adjacent stand, full of teenagers, went berserk. His long locks neatly tied into a ponytail, Rahul resembled a rockstar as he waved back to the kids. It has been that kind of year for Rahul. Largely understated and often struggling to live up to his potential, Rahul seems to have turned a corner. The runs have flowed consistently from his bat this season. Playing for Delhi Capitals, Rahul is strutting his stuff.
Very few will forget the celebration in which he ‘marked his territory’ with thumping authority after finishing a game against RCB at the Chinnaswamy, in front of Bengaluru’s own superstar, Virat Kohli. The cameras caught the Karnataka cricketer suggesting that he owns that ground. On Sunday, he will be up against Kohli once again. This time, it will be on Kohli’s home turf.
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The last time Kohli turned up at this venue, for a Ranji match in Jan-Feb this year, he had drawn packed stands. The new Rahul would want to create a similar fan base in Kohli’s home city as Kohli has done for himself in Bengaluru. Sunday will be all about ‘rockstar’ Rahul challenging the ‘superstar’ Kohli.
For the best part of his career, Rahul has played the underdog. He has shown glimpses of becoming India’s next big batting brand. Yet, he has never cemented his place in the Indian team across formats.
A year after being left out of India’s T20 team, he has chosen to shed that image. Now, he seems more eager to take on the opposition. He claims he has decided to have fun with his power-hitting. But there’s more to it. He batted for a good 40 minutes in the nets on Saturday evening. It’s already been a long season in the heat. But there he was, taking on two of the most lethal bowlers in the squad, Mitchell Starc and Kuldeep Yadav.
Despite increasing strike rates, conventional batting has remained at the core of Rahul’s recent success. Even on Saturday, it was all down-the-ground hitting, with some delicate upper cuts off the short balls and classy pickups off his pads.
In essence, Rahul has only strengthened his base to tee off. While he has looked to get going right from the start, he has also ensured that he doesn’t throw his wicket away. Now, he is finishing games from unfamiliar positions in T20 cricket.
