“Grace in everything he does”: Sanjay Manjrekar admires KL Rahul for acknowledging Suryakumar Yadav’s impact in Guwahati T20I

Sanjay Manjrekar admires KL Rahul: The former Indian batter appreciated the current vice-captain for his gracious words from last night.

If reports doing the rounds around him being rested for the third T20I against South Africa are to be believed, India vice-captain KL Rahul won’t be seen in action in Indore tomorrow.

With India already gaining an unassailable 2-0 series lead in a three-match series, it is being said that Rahul and former captain Virat Kohli could be rested on Tuesday. The development, however, has it in it to receive mixed responses as one wouldn’t want to rest key batters in the last match before ICC T20 World Cup 2022 especially when both of them are returning from extended breaks individually.

Rahul, in particular, should be given another opportunity of gaining further confidence by potentially scoring a third consecutive T20I half-century. In 10 innings since his return to the format after more than nine months, Rahul has scored 306 runs at an average of 34 and a strike rate of 129.11 with the help of four half-centuries.

In their push to dismantle bowling attacks from the word go during the World Cup in Australia later this month, India need Rahul to be scoring at a quicker pace than his above mentioned strike rate. Rahul, who has an overall T20I strike rate of 140.40, doesn’t find a place among 75 opening batters who have the best T20I strike rates this year.

Sanjay Manjrekar admires KL Rahul for acknowledging Suryakumar Yadav’s impact in Guwahati T20I

Rahul, who provided confident signs of finding his grove especially with respect to his strike rate in the second T20I in Guwahati yesterday, was awarded the Player of the Match award for the fourth time in the format for scoring 57 (28) with the help of five fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 203.57.

Rahul, who had received support from former India batter Robin Uthappa regarding his strike rate, has now been appreciated by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar for his “grace” in a tweet.

With the match eyewitness to two much brutal innings from Suryakumar Yadav and David Miller, Rahul was quick to acknowledge the same as he expressed surprise at receiving the match award ahead of Yadav.

“I am surprised [that] I am getting the Man of the Match award. Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] should have gotten it. He changed the game. Having batted in the middle-order [in ODIs], I have realized that it is difficult. DK [Dinesh Karthik] doesn’t always get too many balls to face and he was phenomenal and so were Surya and Virat [Kohli],” a gracious Rahul had told Star Sports last night.