IPL 2021: "That's not his problem" - Gautam Gambhir on KL Rahul not getting enough support from other Punjab Kings players

Gautam Gambhir believes KL Rahul should not be adversely affected by the lack of support from the other Punjab Kings batsmen.

Rahul is on the IPL list for the most runs scored since 2018. He is also currently placed in second spot on the list of orange cap in IPL 2021 in IPL 2021, with 331 runs to his name, despite missing the Punjab Kings' last match due to acute appendicitis.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Gautam Gambhir was asked if KL Rahul has not received enough support and if that has hurt the Punjab Kings over the last couple of seasons. He responded:

"That's not his problem. Other people need to contribute. But he also needs to go there and play freely as well. You can't just keep thinking about what other players are doing."

The former India cricketer highlighted that KL Rahul's conservative approach would impact his side even more adversely. Gambhir elaborated:

"You have got the game to bat a strike rate of probably 170-180 and suddenly, because the other players are not performing, you get that strike rate down to about 120-130, that's going to actually affect the team even more."

Starting from IPL 2020, there have been three 50+ balls innings while batting first which were scored at a strike rate below 130.All those three came from KL Rahul....#IPL2021 #DCvPBKS

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 18, 2021

KL Rahul has scored his runs at a strike rate of 136.21 so far in this IPL 2021 season. He was even more cautious in IPL 2020, with his season-high 670 runs coming at a strike rate of 129.34.

Check out the IPL 2021 purple cap here.

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"KL Rahul has got the ability to probably get a 40-ball hundred" - Gautam Gambhir

KL Rahul has all shots in the cricketing book [P/C: iplt20.com]

Gautam Gambhir pointed out that KL Rahul has the ability to smash a destructive ton. He explained:

"If someone does not have the ability to play at that strike rate, you can understand that he has got to play that anchor kind of innings, but KL Rahul has got the ability to probably get a 40-ball hundred and why would you not want to do that."

The former KKR player signed off by stating that KL Rahul could even have a season akin to what Virat Kohli had in the IPL 2016. Gambhir observed:

"It is a little unfortunate that we still haven't seen the best of KL Rahul. Yes, he has got runs but we still haven't seen what he can probably achieve in his batting. He could have a season like Virat Kohli had once. He is that kind of a player in white-ball cricket, that he can get two or three hundreds in a season and at a very good strike rate as well."

Most runs in an IPL season Virat Kohli 973 @ 81.08 🤯David Warner 848 @ 60.57 Kane Williams 735 @ 52.50 Chris Gayle 733 @ 61.08 #IPL

— India Fantasy (@india_fantasy) September 12, 2021

KL Rahul will certainly hope to be at the top of his game in the second leg of IPL 2021. The Punjab Kings, who are currently placed sixth in the IPL points table 2021, will need their captain to rise to the occasion for them to qualify for the playoffs.