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Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain KL Rahul dismissed concerns over his strike-rate after Punjab suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Dubai against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday.
At present, Rahul is the leading run-scorer in IPL 2020 with 313 runs in six innings at an average of 62.60 and a strike rate of 136.68.
Despite being a top run-scorer, Rahul’s strike-rate in the powerplay has been just 113.3, and this has raised eyebrows various times.
In the post-match presser after the completion of KXIP vs SRH contest, Rahul opined that numbers could be deceptive at times, and said that strike-rates are very overrated.
“Strike-rates are very, very overrated. For me, it’s only about how I can win games for my team. And if on a certain day I think a strike-rate of 120 can win the game for my team, I will do that. This is how I bat, and I would like to take responsibility as a leader.”
“Every player has a different role”: Rahul
Rahul articulated that being a skipper, one has to take responsibility. The Karnataka stalwart further added that every player has a role assigned to him, which can change considering the situation of the game.
“As a leader, you have to take responsibility. We all make mistakes. I’m not saying that I have not made a few mistakes, but you learn each day as a leader, as a batter. It is a partnership when we are in the middle as a batting group.”
“Every player has a different role in the team, and those roles can change in the middle with each game. So, I tried to do the best I can for the team and tried to assess the situation and played according to that. At the end of the day, to walk out of the ground, knowing that I have got my team as close to winning or tried to win the game is the most important thing.”
KXIP have so far played six matches and lost five of them and are currently sitting at the bottom in the points table. Their next game is against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
