KL Rahul will do well as he's a stable guy: Wasim Jaffer backs KXIP captain

Kings XI Punjab batting coach Wasim Jaffer believes that the team's new captain KL Rahul can deliver both as batsman and captain in IPL 2020. KL Rahul was snapped up by the KXIP franchise back in the IPL 2018 auction for a whopping INR 11 crore and he hasn't looked back since.

KL Rahul has been fantastic for both KXIP and India over the past 2 years

KL Rahul has been brilliant in the last two seasons of the IPL, scoring 659 runs and 593 runs in IPL 2018 and IPL 2019 respectively, which helped him make a successful comeback in the Indian team. Rahul has been in brilliant form for India recently, especially during their tour of New Zealand, scoring 224 runs in 5 T20Is at an average of 56 and 204 runs from 3 ODIs at an average of 102. KXIP will hope that KL Rahul replicates his stunning form in this year's IPL.

Speaking about the Karnataka batsman to Rediff.com, former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer said:

"Rahul should be able to do well, there is no doubt about it because he is quite a stable guy. He has been around, has played so many IPLs, so he knows how to go about it. He led in a few games last year"

"He is probably one of the most important members of our team. He carries the batting of Kings XI Punjab, he keeps wickets. And being behind the stumps will also help him," he further added.

Wasim Jaffer also believes that captaincy is a crucial part of any T20 game. He gave the example of the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings being the two most successful teams in the history of the IPL due to their captains Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, respectively. Jaffer believes that if a captain is calm under pressure and takes good decisions for the team, they will more often than not be on the winning side.

"If you look at the most successful teams in the history of the IPL like the Mumbai Indians or CSK, they are probably not as strong as some of the other teams in the tournament, but they have good captains and they will win critical moments in the game and that is why are consistent," Wasim Jaffer said.

"I believe captaincy matters a lot in a T20 game. T20 is so fast-paced that a coach can do very little from the sidelines. You need a very good captain, who can take decisions there and then. KL Rahul fits that bill in my opinion," he further added.

It looks like Wasim Jaffer has full faith in KL Rahul and believes that he will do a great job for KXIP as the skipper.