The next 'Rahul' in Indian cricket

India's young breed of cricketers look up to the national players and former greats. Take KL Rahul for instance. He shares his first name with his hero - Rahul Dravid - but the similarities don't end there. He also bats with the same determination and has the firepower to justify recent accolades.

Instrumental in helping India u-23 team win the recently concluded Emerging Cup in Singapore, Kannaur Lokesh Rahul impressed most with his knocks of 46, 88, 51, 43 and 93*. It however, was not overnight success but a result of immense hardwork and learning from his mistakes. "'I'm definitely happy now that we have won the tournament but there was a time when I wasn't really happy with the way I was going with my innings. I used to get starts and not convert them into big scores. So, yes that was definitely a learning experience," the Man of the Tournament told NDTV.

Triumph in Singapore though is the latest of many feathers in his cricketing cap. The former captain of the Karnataka u-15 team, Rahul was the third-highest run getter in the Vijay Hazare tournament and has also been part of India's World Cup winning u-19 team. The wicket-keeper batsman even had his skipper - Unmukt Chand - gushing about him. "He is a class player and we share a great bond together. I think it has been a long time since we have been good friends and he is a very nice player. His technique is solid, much like Rahul Dravid," said Chand.

Rahul though would rather remain modest. "I don't think I look or play half as good as Rahul Dravid has played. He is a legend but getting compared to Rahul Dravid feels nice."

His statistics and records may be outrightly feeble when compared to his legendary hero. But they still are ominous signs that this Rahul has the right temperament and the perfect talent to follow in the footsteps of Dravid and go the distance.