South African legend hails KL Rahul for his Leadership

Jonty Rhodes noted how Rahul had the task of leading a brand-new franchise, and has done a solid job of laying down the standards to make it to the playoffs in past editions.

By Pratyusha Bhawar Sep 1, 2024, 18:19 IST

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Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes has lavished praise on Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul's captaincy, swirling rumors about his potential exit from the franchise or relinquishing the captaincy spot. However, the fielding coach of LSG has lauded KL Rahul's leadership and playing skills, especially highlighting his successful stint with LSG since 2022 in an exclusive interview with India Today on the sidelines of the pre-launch event of the Pro Cricket League on August 31st in New Delhi. Notably, KL Rahul has led LSG since 2022 and guided the side into the playoffs in two out of the three editions.

The stylish right-handed batter has emphasized that KL Rahul's ability to lead a new franchise into back-to-back playoffs showcases his great leadership. Despite a miserable IPL 2024 edition, where the franchise finished in the seventh spot, KL Rahul's impact as a skipper is great. The 55-year-old cricketer accepted the challenges of leading a franchise in the IPL, particularly with the competition's expansion to 10 teams. Jonty Rhodes also drew parallels with successful captains, with the likes of former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma and former CSK skipper MS Dhoni highlighting that LSG has yet to win a trophy, which is the most crucial task of the team currently.

"I think if you look at a record as a captain of a brand-new franchise, getting into the playoffs every time like he has, it's been something that goes a long way towards his captaincy, to the way that he leads the team and the sort of set up and the approach that he has. So you know, to look at Rohit's record as a captain, Dhoni's record as a captain, the trophies that those guys have won and the consistency that they've done to winning trophies, from LSG's point of view, it might just be one thing getting into the final, winning the trophy," Rhodes said in an interview with India Today.

Meanwhile, the recent meeting between KL Rahul and LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka at his Kolkata residence fueled speculation about his stint with the team.

Also Read: 'Don't fall into the trap.. :' International Umpire shares interesting view about Rohit Sharma

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