KL Rahul has stated that he has learned from former captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli before the three-match ODI series against South Africa.
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Stand-in captain KL Rahul has stated that he has learned from former captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli before the three-match ODI series against South Africa. However, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Rahul will lead the team in the series, starting in Paarl on Wednesday.
“Look, Virat like I said to him, India has done some phenomenal things. We won a series outside of India, which hadn’t been done before. We have gone to every country and won a series, so he has done a lot of things right and he has already set a standard for all of us and the India team,” KL Rahul said during a virtual press conference on the eve of the first ODI.
“I stay balanced and take one game at a time. There were a lot of learnings from the 2nd Test. Hopefully, I can take lessons from MS and Virat and keep improving along my journey. I don’t really set targets. I just take one game at a time. The two great captains have shown us the way. We did exceptional things under Virat. It will be important for us to build on that,” Rahul further added.
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However, last Saturday, Virat Kohli announced his decision to quit the Test captaincy, a day after India faced a 1-2 series defeat against South Africa. Kohli led India in 68 Tests where they won 40 matches as well.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul said that the team would look to build on the legacy created by Virat Kohli.
“I think, it is all about, for me or for the group going forward is to build on that and we obviously know what it takes for us to be a champion team. So just to keep improving as individuals and trying to stay as disciplined and as determined as we can and go out there and enjoy your cricket,” added the 29-year-old right-handed batter.
According to Rahul, he would like to emulate Kohli’s ability to get the best out of his teammates.
“When it comes to leadership, Virat had this amazing ability to get the best out of everybody, he pushed everybody and you know made us believe that we can do special things, so that is something I have learned from him, and hopefully, I can do that with the team as well,” added Rahul.
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Meanwhile, Rahul has led India in the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg. And, this is the first time he will lead the side in a full series.
“The things I have learned from Virat regarding captaincy has been the whole world knows how passionate he is about Test cricket, and in general about cricket. And he has led from the front, he put a lot of changes in the team. The current winning belief, which is there in the team, (it) is large because of Virat as a leader and he has made us believe in ourselves and believe that we can go outside of India and beat any team. So, I want to continue that and obviously build on it and get better as a team,” KL Rahul concluded.
