“Energy has been great”: KL Rahul talks about Virat Kohli’s energy while playing as a specialist batter in ODIs

KL Rahul talks about Virat Kohli’s energy: The Indian captain opened up on his predecessor after losing his first two ODIs as a captain.

Stand-in captain Lokesh Rahul has become only the fifth Indian cricketer to lose his first two ODIs as a captain. Leading India for the first time in ODIs, Rahul’s third ODI as captain will be a dead-rubber in Cape Town.

A second consecutive lacklustre performance in a row in Paarl witnessed India losing by 7 wickets in the recently concluded match. Failing to defend a 288-run target on Friday, Rahul considers dual losses as “good learning” for the team.

“I think they are playing some really good cricket at home. We are making mistakes as well in the middle. It’s a good learning for us. We are a team that takes a lot of pride in winning, but good learning for us and hopefully we can grow,” Rahul told SuperSport during the post-match presentation ceremony.

KL Rahul talks about Virat Kohli’s energy while playing as a specialist batter in ODIs

Apart from losing both the series on an overseas tour where they were expected to dominate against a comparatively inexperienced side, India lacking killing instinct is quite surprising for the amount of talent they possess.

Rahul, however, picked many positive from two losses at the Boland Park. The 29-year old player highlighted individual performances across departments as good signs for the team.

“The way Shikhar [Dhawan] and Virat [Kohli] batted in the first game was very good. And today Rishabh [Pant], the way he managed the first 20 balls and then he took down the spinners. He is a really important member of the team and Shardul [Thakur], too, showing us he can bat lower down and make a good contribution.

The Indian cricket team’s looking really hard to beat in the Rahuls era. 🙃

— Aniruddha Guha (@AniGuha) January 21, 2022

“Jasprit [Bumrah] has been the standout bowler for us and Yuzi [Yuzvendra Chahal] has been good today,” Rahul said.

Before concluding, Rahul was asked about former captain Virat Kohli’s energy while playing as a specialist batter. While Rahul didn’t precisely talk about Kohli’s energy, he answered the question with respect to the whole team. For those who don’t know, Kohli is playing an international series as a specialist batter for the first time in the last five years.

“I think the energy has been great. Obviously, it’s really hot. Not saying it as an excuse but we haven’t played 50 overs cricket in a long time. It’s been tough on the body, staying in the bubbles. It’s challenging, but I’m not saying we don’t love challenges,” Rahul mentioned.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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