IPL 2021: "It's not something I always enjoy" – KL Rahul on his role with PBKS

Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain KL Rahul blamed the batting unit for the team’s continued inconsistent run after their defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 48th match of IPL 2021 in Sharjah on Sunday.

Opening up on his role with the team, he said that playing the anchor’s role isn’t something he always enjoys, but he doesn’t mind doing it since it’s a team sport.

Also receiving the Orange Cap again, KL Rahul stated he would have enjoyed wearing the cap more if PBKS had qualified for the IPL 2021 playoffs.

"The Orange Cap has been on my head for a while. I wouldn’t say I haven’t enjoyed wearing it, but I would have been happier if we had qualified.

"It was a score that was par. Maybe 10-15 runs extra. When someone like Glenn Maxwell comes in with that sort of form, it makes it difficult. But with the bat, the last couple of years have been disappointing.

"If I have to be honest, our batting has let us down,” said a disappointed KL Rahul in the post-match interview.

Chasing 165, PBKS were off to a strong start yet again, with KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal putting up a 91-run opening stand from 65 balls. The opening duo have scored 34% of the team's runs.

On being asked if the continuous failures of the rest of the batting order played in his and Mayank Agarwal’s minds, KL Rahul said:

"I'll be lying if I say it doesn't play on my mind. I play a role that the team demands. It's not something that I always enjoy, but when you play a team game and are a leader, you have to accept responsibility. I have tried to play that role.

"In T20s, the top two or three do score a bulk of the runs. You won’t have people in the middle order scoring 500-600 runs in a season."

We have missed a performer in the middle order: KL Rahul

KL Rahul lamented the fact that despite strong starts in the opening department, PBKS have struggled to close matches due to a thin middle order.

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Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda and Nicholas Pooran have averaged 21, 16 and 7.7 respectively in the middle order.

"But we do need players to make those 25-30 runs at a quick rate, the power game which Shahrukh has started to do for us; the youngsters have done really well - Bishnoi, Arshdeep and Harpreet have come through in the last 4-5 games and have matured a lot.

"They have shown a lot of heart which is great to see; hopefully, we can build on it and see how we can score more runs," KL Rahul added.

PBKS stand on the brink of exit in IPL 2021. They haven't qualified for the playoffs since 2014. Their last match in the league is against the top-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday.