Indian batter KL Rahul opened up on how he felt when he was suddenly asked to lead the team in the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg earlier this year in January.
Despite winning the first Test of the series, Team India had a poor run in South Africa. The visitors lost both the Test and ODI series by the margin of 2-1 and 3-0 respectively.
Ahead of the second Test match in Johannesburg, India was jolted as skipper Virat Kohli was ruled out due to a back spasm. KL Rahul, who was named vice-captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma, then led the side in the second game.
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He didn’t have a fruitful start to his captaincy career as his side lost the match by seven wickets. South Africa successfully chased 243 and levelled the series 1-1.
Speaking on Red Bull Cricket Room on Clubhouse, KL Rahul said that during the South Africa tour, as a vice-captain he prepared himself slowly to captain the side. But things went the other way and Virat Kohli suddenly came to him and told him that he might have to captain the side as his back is not good.
“I was the vice-captain. As a vice-captain you slowly prepare yourself to become the captain in due time. But then I didn’t expect it to come to me so quickly and in such circumstances: the morning of the game, Virat (Kohli) came to me in the bus and said, ‘My back is not feeling great, you might have to captain the team,” KL Rahul said.
Rahul said that it was a great honour for him to lead Team India but his mindset didn’t change a lot as in his head he always play in situations like he’s a skipper.
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“It didn’t put me off or my mindset didn’t change a lot. All of us, in some way or the other, when we play the game we are our own captain and in our head, we are playing situations like we are a captain. When that ‘C’ in the team list comes, it does feel new and it is something you are proud of. It is an honour not many people get and it is something you always dream of and I was very happy, very grateful,” he said.
Rahul while lauding South Africa for their performance admitted that it wasn’t pleasing for him as he started his stint as a captain with a loss.
"It was very challenging. We were 1-0 up, playing South Africa in South Africa. It was a really good game of cricket; there were ups and downs for both the teams. South Africa players really well and held their nerve towards the end to win the game. Wasn’t the most pleasant thing for me to start off with a loss as a captain, but it was a great learning and I enjoyed those 4-5 days on the field. We fought till the very end,” he concluded.
With Rohit Sharma not be being available due to a hamstring injury, Rahul then captained the team in the ODIs as well. Under him, India suffered a 3-0 whitewash. He will be next seen in the action in the upcoming IPL 2022. The right-hander was named skipper of the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants.
