"He deserves that" - Saba Karim on KL Rahul's appointment as Team India captain for the ODI series vs South Africa

Saba Karim believes KL Rahul has been deservedly appointed Team India captain for the ODI series against South Africa.

Rohit Sharma was originally supposed to lead the Indian team in the three ODIs against the Proteas. However, the Mumbaikar failed to recover from his hamstring injury, so Rahul was handed over the reins of the side.

During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim said about KL Rahul's appointment as ODI captain:

"This is going to be a very good year for Rahul; that is my wish for him. He deserves that because he is a player who can take the team forward. He knows his place is assured in this team; he is a multi-format player."

The former India selector feels KL Rahul has been rewarded for his ability to adapt his game to different formats. Karim observed:

"The classy knock he played in the Test match; it was extremely enjoyable watching that. I feel he is a player who can adapt his batting to every format, and that is why this responsibility has been given to KL Rahul."

Rahul was the chief architect of Team India's 113-run win in the first Test against South Africa. His 123-run knock in the first innings helped India gain the ascendancy in the game, and he was duly chosen as the Player of the Match.

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"KL Rahul has an insatiable appetite for runs" - Reetinder Sodhi

KL Rahul has shown his prowess in all formats of the game.

Reetinder Singh Sodhi also concurred with Saba Karim that KL Rahul's all-format skills helped him find favour with the selectors. He said:

"He (Rahul) is a big player. As Saba said, he is a multi-format player, and I think he has an insatiable appetite for runs, whichever format he plays - Test cricket, T20s or ODIs. He excelled for the Punjab Kings in the IPL last season, made brilliant runs."

The former India all-rounder concluded that KL Rahul could become one of the modern-day greats of the game, saying:

"His bat is not stopping in Test cricket. So he definitely deserved captaincy. Test cricket is still left in South Africa, but we hope that the ODI captaincy suits him, and he keeps on scoring runs like this because he can be a legend of the game."

KL Rahul has been a regular in India's limited-overs side over the last few years. His exploits with the bat in the Test series against England and the first match against South Africa have helped secure his place in the team in the longest format of the game.