If KL Rahul leads Lucknow Super Giants to their maiden IPL title, he will automatically be rewarded with a spot in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, reckons head coach Justin Langer, who wants his team’s national hopefuls to “concentrate” on doing well for the franchise first.
Rahul, who is returning from a quadriceps injury and is not expected to keep wickets in the early stages, is still not a certainty in the India T20 squad and only a good IPL with both the bat and gloves can seal the deal for him.
Asked how he would balance his skipper’s personal ambition with the team’s interests, Langer said it isn’t all that complicated.
“If the team does well, everyone gets rewarded. If KL can captain LSG to the IPL title, that means he would have captained well, batted well and kept wickets well,” Langer said during a media interaction on Wednesday.
Apart from Rahul, the other serious T20 World Cup contender from LSG is leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
“The message for players, like KL or Bishi (Bishnoi) will be that more they concentrate on playing well for LSG, their chances (of World T20 call-up) will increase.”
Rahul is expected to link up with the team on Wednesday evening due to a flight delay but the former Australian opener didn’t say a word about when the star player will start keeping. “He has followed all the ‘Return To Play’ protocols and he has been hitting a lot of balls.”
With foreign recruits Mark Wood and David Willey ruled out of the tournament,
the Lucknow Super Giants’ pace bowling unit looks thin on experience.
Shivam Mavi, the injury-prone pacer, hasn’t played competitive cricket since August 2023 while Delhi’s talented tearaway quick Mayank Yadav was out of the entire Ranji Trophy season with a side strain.
Mohsin Khan, the find of the 2022 IPL, has had injury issues and Yash Thakur isn’t very experienced.
“It is a very good observation that we lack some experience but there is enormous talent. The pacers — they all look fit, healthy and hungry.
“We need to manage them well not just at start but through the whole tournament.”
PTI
