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Former cricketer Virender Sehwag believes that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul will be high on confidence following his 74-run knock against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).
Sehwag emphasized that while Rahul's strike rate may not have been very impressive, his form is definitely a wonderful sign for Lucknow. He opined that the opening batter will dominate the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowlers in their forthcoming fixture if he is able to bat for a long time.
Here's what Sehwag said about Rahul during a discussion on Cricbuzz:
"KL Rahul is back in form. He scored runs in the previous match. Yes, his strike rate may not have met people's expectations, but his form is a great sign. Rajasthan doesn't have any other fast bowler apart from Trent Boult who has express pace or is very dangerous. They do have dangerous spinners, but if KL Rahul bats for long, he will surely take them apart."
After a slow start to the tournament, Rahul bounced back with a wonderful knock against PBKS, scoring 74 runs off 56 balls. He has aggregated 155 runs from five outings at an ordinary strike rate of 113.13.
He will next be seen in action when LSG take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday, April 19.
"KL Rahul is far better than Sanju Samson" - Virender Sehwag compares the two Indian batters
Virender Sehwag further stated that KL Rahul is ahead of Sanju Samson when it comes to international cricket, given his proven record across formats.
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Rahul has done well in red-ball cricket and has hundreds in overseas conditions as well. He highlighted that the 31-year-old has proved his mettle in white-ball cricket as an opener as well as a middle order batter.
Sehwag added:
"If you talk about establishing yourself in the Indian team, I believe KL Rahul is far better than Sanju Samson. He has played Test matches and scored hundreds in many countries. He has performed well in ODIs, both as an opener and in the middle order, and has also scored runs in T20 cricket."
It is worth mentioning that Samon fared better when compared to Rahul so far in IPL 2023. While the keeper-batter has 157 runs to his name from five games, they have come at a wonderful strike rate of 165.26.
