Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain KL Rahul might have a great IPL 2020 season as a batsman, but he failed to take to his team to the playoffs of the tournament and former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Aakash Chopra feels the latter must take some of the blame for the failure.
In the recently concluded IPL 2020, Rahul ticked all the boxes as a batsman as the right-hander finished as the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 670 runs, but when it comes to his maiden captaincy stint, KXIP has had a topsy-turvy ride in the UAE under the Karnataka batsman.
KXIP failed to make it to the playoffs of the IPL 13 and finished sixth in the points table with 12 points in the UAE where Mumbai Indians retained their trophy by thrashing Delhi Capitals in the finals.
Reviewing the KXIP’s performances in the recently concluded IPL 2020 on his YouTube channel, Chopra said Rahul had a mixed season as captain saying the right-hander has to take the blame for being unable to find his best Playing XI in the tournament in the UAE.
Chopra said on his channel, “I was 50-50 with KL Rahul's captaincy. Because he will have to take some of the blame for Kings XI Punjab not being able to find their ideal XI.”
However, the commentator admitted that it wasn’t only Rahul’s decision but he was part of the decision making. He added, “I am sure these are the decisions of the team management and all of that but you also play a part. So that is an issue because it took some time to understand.”
On Rahul’s progress as captain, the former cricketer opined, “If you talk about the captaincy in terms of bowler management as that is a very important aspect, I was fine. He handled the bowlers well, didn't play them consistently at the start.”
But Chopra has pointed out that the KXIP skipper brilliantly used his bowlers in the IPL 13 including the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami. However, the commentator said Rahul needs some time to get used to the captaincy.
He further noted, “But when he started playing them, he used Ravi Bishnoi well, Murugan was used well also and even Shami was used well. In fact, let me just say this that KL Rahul's captaincy kept improving as the tournament progressed.”
Chopra signed off, “And that is not surprising because he had not captained in the IPL earlier, this was his first year, so you are a little cautious and conservative in the beginning but after that, you find your feet and that's what he did towards the end. So, he kept on improving as the team played more matches.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)
