KL Rahul is easily among the few standout performers of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 which has reached its business end. The right-handed batsman has hardly put a foot wrong in the cash-rich league and has scored prolifically for his franchise - Kings XI Punjab. In the 10 matches, he has played this season, Rahul has scored 471 runs at an impressive average of 58.88. His strike-rate of 156.48 has also made a huge difference for Punjab at the top of the order.
With his picture-perfect technique and a rock-solid defence, the 26-year old batsman has also shown challenged the concept of playing unorthodox and high-risk shots in cricket's shortest format. It would not be an overstatement to say that Rahul's timing and elegance is undoubtedly the most pleasing sight on the 22-yard strip which would make any cricket purist proud.
In an exclusive chat with IndiaTV, Rahul made a big revelation about his current franchise Kings XI Punjab of which he is a part of. "Kings XI Punjab was in the last of the list I had in my mind. I thought I'll remain in Bangalore or will go to some other club but never thought of being picked by Punjab."
"But I am happy. We are a strong team and have a nice bonding," Rahul added.
After missing out on last year's edition of IPL due to a shoulder injury, Rahul was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a whopping price of Rs 11 crore at the IPL Player Auction held in January this year. In the opening match for Kings, the Mangalore-born batsman smashed the fastest half-century in the IPL history, off just 14 balls.
“I am in a good mind space and have a hunger to score runs. KXIP have showed so much of faith in me, so I have to deliver and win games for them. It's in my nature that when I go on the ground, I assess the situation and try to win the game for my team,” the stylish right-hander added.
After batting with the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rahul has got a chance to open the innings with one of the legends of T20 cricket - Chris Gayle. Speaking about Gayle, he said, "He is a complete entertainer. He is a destructive batsman, so you enjoy when you play along with him. With his intimidating stats, he always remains to be one of the best T20 batsmen in the world."
