KL Rahul will be working as the Indian skipper alongside head coach Rahul Dravid for the second time during the forthcoming T20I series against South Africa.

This will be Rahul’s first assignment as the Indian captain in the T20I format and it is part of the buildup towards the T20 World Cup 2022 to take place in Australia in October this year.

With regular skipper Rohit Sharma rested for the series, Rahul will have to ensure to keep his tactics in line with the template that Dravid and Rohit would have followed going into the T20 World Cup. KL Rahul has been named the vice-captain of the Indian team ever since Rohit Sharma has taken over the captaincy and has been groomed as a future captain of the national team.

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan said that he is confident that Dravid must have communicated the team plans clearly to Rahul, for the upcoming South Africa T20Is.

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“It is extremely necessary and the clarity would have been given. I have been saying that since Rahul Dravid has come as a coach, I have played under his captaincy, his biggest thing is the clarity of role,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

“It is not that the earlier coaches have not done that, Ravi Shastri was there and Virat Kohli was captaining, but he (Dravid) will take it one step ahead. I have full belief the communication would have happened and KL Rahul would have been told that if he is the captain, it means he is the next in line,” he added.

Rahul has previously led the team in three ODIs, apart from one Test match against South Africa this year. He led Lucknow Super Giants to the IPL 2022 playoffs in their debut season.

(Star Sports inputs)