Zimbabwe batting legend Andy Flower is expecting KL Rahul to be an excellent captain for the Indian cricket team.

Flower observed Rahul from close quarters while coaching the IPL team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last season. Notably, Rahul led the Lucknow-based franchise in the 2022 edition of IPL.

So far, Rahul has captained India in three Tests, seven ODIs, and one T20I. In fact, he was once deemed as Rohit Sharma's successor across formats but the emergence of Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to the IPL triumph last year, changed a lot of things.

"KL is a superb batter, beautiful to watch, I love watching him bat always. I first came across him when I was coaching England Lions. We played against India A in Trivandrum so I have been a keen follower of him as a batsman since then," Flower quoted as saying by PTI.

"He is also an outstanding young man and really good leader, he is very calm, measured, he is good company. I respect him and really enjoy working with him."

When asked about Pandya and players such as Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, Flower said, "What I know of him (Rahul), he will be an excellent skipper. I don't know the other guys very well so can't comment on that, selectors might see that."

As a coach, Flower is currently giving his services to Gulf Giants, a franchise featuring in the inaugural International League T20.

"At the moment I am fairly busy throughout the year due to franchise cricket. I really enjoy the professional challenge of moving from team to team and deception of my coaching style through what the team needs and it's also wonderful to experience different cultures in various countries and teams," he concluded.

(With PTI Inputs)