KL Rahul's Personality Not Suited For Captaincy? Ex-PBKS Coach Explains Why
KL Rahul is in an interesting phase of his career. Across formats, he is one of the senior members of the team. However, in none of the formats is he firmly in the race to be the captain
KL Rahul is in an interesting phase of his career. Across formats, he is one of the senior members of the team. However, in none of the formats is he firmly in the race to be the captain. Still, he is part of the leadership group in all teams. In the IPL too, KL Rahul played a crucial role for Delhi Capitals as a senior player after he left Lucknow Super Giants, where he was the skipper. He earlier said that captaincy brings with it a fresh set of challenges.
Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, former Punjab Kings batting coach Wasim Jaffer shared fresh insights regarding KL Rahul's career and leadership roles. Reflecting on Rahul's batting consistency versus his temperament for captaincy, Jaffer suggested that freeing the batter from leadership duties allows his natural game to flourish.
He said, "KL Rahul's personality is better off not captaining because if you leave him to play, I think he'll always give you 500-600 runs. He's a bankable player. He will win 2-3 games on his own, which he does in every season."
With India set to face Sri Lanka in an upcoming two-match Test series in Galle and Colombo, Rahul's role purely as a core senior batter remains pivotal to the team's balance. In the three-day practice match against SLC XI, which concluded on Sunday, KL came in as an opener in the first innings and scored 40 off 67 balls. He did not bat in the second innings.
Jaffer added, "So I just feel that with the kind of personality he has, captaincy just puts a bit of added pressure on him."
Rahul, who represented PBKS from 2018 to 2021, served as the team's captain from 2020 to 2021. During this time, Jaffer served as PBKS' batting coach from 2019 to 2021. KL's 2020 and 2021 seasons with the team were highly productive, winning the Orange Cap in the 2020 season with 670 runs in 14 innings at an average of 55.83 and a strike rate of 129.34, with a century and five fifties. However, in both his seasons as captain, PBKS finished in sixth spot out of eight teams.
Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan, Jaffer shared behind-the-scenes insights from his coaching stint with the franchise. Reflecting on KL Rahul's ultra-calm demeanour as a leader, Jaffer revealed how the batter's usually composed exterior once gave way to intense frustration during Punjab's notoriously tight IPL finishes.
He said, "KL is naturally very composed, a bit reserved, and keeps to himself. You would not see him out and about much, as he mostly socialises within his close circle of friends. It is very rare to see him lose his cool or get visibly angry on or off the field."
Jaffer then went on to recall his side's close losses during KL's captaincy, which frustrated the opening batter, and while he did not say anything out of line, he was still "a little angry".
"But back when I was the batting coach at Punjab, every single game felt like a heartbreak. We were losing matches from winning positions, and almost every game was going down to the final over. After one of those close losses, a game we easily should have won, I saw him get genuinely angry for the first time. He didn't say anything out of line, but you could see how deeply frustrated he was with how badly we had played. That was the only time I saw KL Rahul a little angry," he added.
KL Rahul
India Cricket Team