Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul has been among the runs in the ongoing IPL season, but his strike rate has put him under the scanner time and again.

On Saturday (April 22), Rahul once again drew flak for his slow approach while opening the innings against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Chasing 136 to win, Rahul scored 68 off 61 balls as LSG fell seven runs short of the target. This season, he has had a strike rate of a tick above 100 in the powerplay.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is the latest expert to criticise KL Rahul for his approach in the shortest format.

“In Tests, he is a beautiful player. I have no doubts about him in ODIs. But in T20 cricket in this era I do have a doubt about him. I think he can take more risks. A lot of Indian players take a lot of balls to get in. But in modern cricket you almost got to go because now you have a batting line-up to almost 9 or 10 and in some cases even 11,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz.

“Previously the target would be to get almost 50 in the first six and that would be a decent start but with the kind of cricket that is being played targeting 70 is not put of the realms. If I was part of the Indian team I would be looking at the likes of Shubman Gill, who is younger, fearless and can play aggressive cricket. If someone could have said to KL Rahul that all we want is to make that shift to at least fourth gear quicker,” he added.

Vaughan then went on to mention Virat Kohli, who has the tendency of slowing down after the fielding restrictions get over.

The ex-England cricketer warned Kohli about the competition he is likely to face from young batters like Shubman Gill in the Indian line-up.

“People have been talking about Kohli's strike rate as well and has been targetting him because he is that good. He can easily pump up his strike rate. It's not criticism but it is giving him that belief to go on. If I was him I would have been looking at some of the youngers players like Gill and say, ‘wait a minute, they are chasing me down the rails’,” he remarked.