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Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Does KL Rahul take himself too seriously?
Rain, abandonment, injury, Nepal, none of them could stall India’s progress into the Super 4s. More rain, near abandonment, injury, Dunith Wellalage couldn’t stall India’s progress into the Finals of the Asia Cup.
India meant business. This was evident when a team committed to resting and rotating its players made them play back-to-back matches. The two-day one-dayer was here. Kohli, KL, Bumrah were there too.
But KL and Bumrah were not always there. KL had a niggle, missed out on the first two matches. This brought on some obvious and some not-so-obvious criticism – is KL Rahul soft? Is he injury-prone? Is the rope given to him too long? But then KL Rahul’s ODI numbers are red hot. More so in the middle order, where he can be the custodian of both acceleration and sustenance. Not unlike KL, Shreyas Iyer too has compelling ODI numbers. His fitness, not unlike KL, isn’t too compelling either.
Was picking them both in the World Cup squad a mistake?
This opinion soon proved to be a mistake. Partly, however. KL Rahul returned with aplomb – and bombed the Pakistani bowlers. But Shreyas Iyer’s back spasm ruled him out of the first two Super 4 matches.
On the field, KL isn’t half as demonstrative as Kohli. This lack of exuberance can be often misconstrued. Then he makes comments such as, “strike rate is overrated”. They stick.
Yet behind the stumps, KL’s calls and inputs have been spot-on – though such is his demeanour, it puts forth the question, is KL overdoing the underdoing bit? The frontmen of team India are no less than rock stars in their own right.
Rohit, Virat, Hardik are more often swayed by Jadeja and Siraj’s antics and appeals than the evidence at hand. Going down leg, so what? Let’s shake a leg with Jaddu, he wants it so bad.
So while KL behind the stumps was against a review, so overcome with appeal-cheer was Rohit, he fully disregarded his stumper’s counsel. Come on, KL, you gotta sell yourself – and your opinion.
To his benefit, he did keep wickets after his 111 not out. That with the option of Ishan Kishan at hand. But then this is such clichéd healthy competition – a keeper batter with a double ton and a row of 50s breathing down your neck.
While KL’s ton against Pakistan earned him all the brownie points, it was his 39 against Sri Lanka that stood out. KL stood tall, his back-to-back boundaries against an unstoppable Dunith Wellalage were of the highest caliber.
Beyond KL’s batting, the question that remains is – how good is he as a wicketkeeper? Keeping to spin, KL may not appear to be the finished article; often fumbling, nowhere as articulate as Rishabh Pant but there are positives – his suggestions to Kuldeep Yadav (appeared to be regarding an outside off line) payed off. A no-fuss stumping followed.
That’s another thing, KL doesn’t appear to fuss about much. He went to the extent of saying that he was nervous on return. At least initially while batting.
What KL doesn’t do for himself, his PR does in spades. Prior to his return, when KL was warming up at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) – keeping, batting, looking his usual nonchalant self; it was conveyed in videos, photographs across social media. To his 8.2 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Often KL Rahul may appear to be the Cheteshwar Pujara of India’s white ball team. Going about his job, not making much of it. As with Pujara, injuries have often set KL’s career back.
While Pujara has made light of his twin knee surgeries and played over 100 Test matches, how far will KL go?
The answer may lie in whether he is prepared to sacrifice the longer format to lengthen his career? Close to 9 years after making his Test debut, India’s former stand-in captain has been superseded by others.
Today, Hardik Pandya is Rohit Sharma’s deputy. A fit again Jasprit Bumrah is next in the pecking order. Being away from the limelight could work for Rahul. And who knows, he may go for the kill again. Or Rahul going for the KL, now that’s a pun he won’t find funny.
KL Rahul is back.
From injury. From lack of form.
Into form.
Two innings, contrasting conditions, and the full gamut. He kept wickets. He kept to himself. At times he didn’t keep to himself. And that’s what stood out.
He initiated Kuldeep Yadav to bowl an outside off line, CRACKED and stumped He Counselled his captain not to take the review But he didn’t take KL Rahul. seriously
Why?
Does anyone take KL Rahul seriously?
Does KL Rahul take himself seriously?
Or does KL Rahul take himself too seriously?
Or just like strike-rate, is expression also overrated?
First published at cricket.com here
Why an injured Virat Kohli still has a role to play in the IPL
RCB
skipper believes the recently concluded Dharamsala Test strengthened his
resolve
Trust Virat Kohli to take a negative situation and turn it on its head into something positively inspirational. Arguably no player likes to be rooted to the dugout while the action pans out in the middle, least of all, Virat Kohli. After a matchless 2016-17 season that spanned every format (including IPL 9), the former RCB captain is set to miss out on the first few weeks of season 10. While the extent of Kohli’s shoulder injury is still murky, there is talk of assessing his condition mid-April to determine his readiness to play.
Trust Virat Kohli to take a negative situation and turn it on its head into something positively inspirational. Arguably no player likes to be rooted to the dugout while the action pans out in the middle, least of all, Virat Kohli. After a matchless 2016-17 season that spanned every format (including IPL 9), the former RCB captain is set to miss out on the first few weeks of season 10. While the extent of Kohli’s shoulder injury is still murky, there is talk of assessing his condition mid-April to determine his readiness to play.
Kohli
though, is having none of this. He has already said he is raring to go – if not
in the middle as an opening batsman and captain, then definitely in the middle
as the drinks’ boy. Kohli has dismissed age-old beliefs that the 12th
man does not have a role to play – in fact quite the contrary. It is Kohli’s
belief that carrying drinks like any other is a skill one that has to be honed
over time. “Even though I have very little experience carrying drinks, I’ve
been lucky to carry drinks only recently during the grueling last Test in
Dharamsala. That experience is sure to hold me in good stead for the initial
part of the IPL season. I will look to assert myself with the drinks during all
the strategic time outs.”
This may
not be a good thing for TV viewers though who will miss out on Kohli charging
his mates in the team huddle in the middle – it’s a known fact that the
strategic time outs are when the ad breaks kick in during the IPL. Some
advertisers are now in talks with broadcasters to shit their ads from the
strategic time outs to the actual playing time. A sponsor who wished to remain
anonymous stated that it was criminal to place ads when Kohli was making his
presence felt. “It will work negatively for our brand, there is no way we can
have a positive association if we try and fight Kohli for the limelight. It’s
better that we graciously accept that this is Kohli’s time to shine – also it’s
just for a few games only”
There are
also rumours that when not on the field carrying drinks, Kohli will be swearing
from the dugout with choicest of abuses. The captain takes his job as RCB
cheerleader very seriously only stopping at not wearing a skirt. “Yes, you have
to draw the line somewhere, and while there’s nothing I won’t do to inspire the
boys…I won’t do that. I don’t mind doing a little bhangra with the cheerleaders
though. But how these girls from Belarus will do the bhangra I can’t say…”
While it’s
tough to say how Kohli will shape up in his new avatar, former owner, Vijay
Mallya, said he was very buoyant – “As a captain of a team named after a drink,
there can be no better association than carrying the drinks. It’s a shame that
the IPL after parties were discontinued, if I was there at the IPL, I would’ve
pushed for an IPL party during the strategic time outs in the middle – yes,
it’s just a few minutes but maybe they can do RC shots or put down a pint in
that time” When asked if Mallya wanted the players to dehydrate themselves by
consuming alcohol in the middle, he quickly retracted his statement, “of course
not, we’re just looking for a little fun and games in the middle…and having a
beer is the best form of rehydration…that’s why the Aussies always have a round
of beers after a tough day’s play”.
The IPL
kicks off on 5th April, with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad
taking on last year’s finalists, RCB. As a build-up to the event and his new
role, Kohli was spotted in the gym, doing a light routine, instead of dumbbells
though, he was lifting energy drink bottles.
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