Premier Team India batter and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain, KL Rahul recently opened up about the difference in leadership styles of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Rahul, who saw his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign cut short by injury, is among the handful of Indian cricketers who have had the privilege of playing under the captaincy of the aforementioned leaders. The Indian batter beautifully explained the captaincy styles of each player and also revealed one core strength of Dhoni, Kohli and Sharma when it comes to leadership.
Talking about Dhoni, Rahul said that the two-time World Cup winner's ability to build relationships with players while also throwing light on the calming demeanour.
"I have been captained by such great leaders, starting with MS Dhoni, while he was playing, you know he was the captain, he was my captain, my first captain. I have seen how he handled the team and his calmness, the things that he does behind the scenes like building a relationship with each person are something that I have learned from him. You know, you need to build a relationship where these boys will fight for you and will be with you. That is something I learned from him," Rahul said on 'The Ranveer Show'.
Talking about Kohli, Rahul pointed at the aggression factor that the former captain brought to the table and how his relentless pursuit of greatness and not settling for mediocrity set a benchmark.
“Then Virat Kohli was our leader for six-seven years and the thing is that the Indian team did under him, the stats are there to be seen and it was phenomenal. the passion, the aggression brought in, he set the standard really high, and his way of leading and captaining was like leading from the front and showing the team how to achieve greatness," Rahul said.
"He did that and we all jumped on board, we got inspired by the things that he was doing and we tried to be a better version of ourselves and that is something that Virat created and gave each player the power or the realisation to do that you don't have to settle for mediocre," he further explained.
Talking about Rohit, Rahul highlighted the shrewd tactical ability of the 'Hitman' and how he strategists for each player in the opposition team.
"Rohit Sharma, who is like so sharp, as a leader, his strategies, he does a lot of homework before the game, he knows each person's strengths and what he will do and he's put under pressure, where you need to attack him or where are the flaws in his technique and like he is really really good at strategies and understanding the game. All these things are the things I have learned from these people," said Rahul.
Rahul got injured earlier this month while trying to save a boundary during the clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Indian batter underwent successful surgery on May 9 and shared the update via his Instagram account.
"I just got done with my surgery - it was successful," Rahul wrote in a post.
The stylish batter will miss the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. He was named in the squad but after undergoing surgery, he was replaced by Ishan Kishan.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
'It affects me and affects a lot of the other boys': Emotional KL Rahul opens up on tackling constant online trolls
IPL 2023: After DC's batting line-up fires in unison, captain David Warner hits out at 'inconsistent' pitches at home
