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Indian batter KL Rahul has revealed the moment when he got to know he will be making his captaincy debut in Test cricket. Rahul recalled when skipper Virat Kohli asked his stand-in deputy to lead India against South Africa earlier this year as the latter was ruled out due to upper back spasm.
“Like everyone else, it came to me as a huge surprise to me. 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,” said Rahul in a chat on the Red Bull Cricket Room hosted by Clubhouse.
Rahul could not start his Test captaincy career with a win as Dean Elgar led his side to a successful run chase with his unbeaten 96-run knock. Rahul also shared what he felt when he first saw 'C' (captain) in front of his name on team sheet.
“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,” concluded KL Rahul.
The 29-year-old scored a half-century on his Test captaincy debut. However, he could not do much in the second innings and register a single-digit score at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
Later, on the Proteas tour, the Karnataka-batter also led India in the ODIs as Rohit Sharma got ruled out due to an injury.
Rahul will now lead new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the upcoming 10-team Indian Premier League (IPL). LSG will start their maiden IPL campaign against Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans on March 28.
