IPL 2022: "Don’t think we ever wanted any player to restrain himself" - Anil Kumble opens up on KL Rahul's strike rate issue

Punjab Kings head coach Anil Kumble has stated that the franchise never asked former captain KL Rahul or any other player to "restrain himself" or bat at a low strike rate. The former spinner explained that he has never taken a "conservative approach" in T20 cricket and doesn't plan to do so this season either with the new-look PBKS team.

One of India's most destructive T20 batters, Rahul batted at a strike rate of 129.34 and 138.80 in the two seasons he captained PBKS. While the numbers looked decent on paper, there was a widely accepted opinion that the 29-year-old was holding his natural game back to support the team's fragile middle order.

This was evident from how PBKS lost close games despite good starts at the top of the order by Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the team's eventual sixth-place finishes in both seasons. When asked about the issue after a match in IPL 2020, Rahul called strike rates "very, very overrated", leading to a big debate on social media.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Kumble categorically denied his and the PBKS backroom staff's role behind the approach, saying:

"No, I don’t think we ever wanted any player to restrain himself. In this format, I don’t think you can take a conservative approach. The natural ability of a Mayank or a Shikhar (Dhawan) is to attack. Even with the rest of the players, I don’t think there will be any approach to curb their natural instincts. That has never been my approach at all."

After two tumultuous years, Rahul decided to move on to the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants with a record contract worth ₹17 crore. On retaining players and the team's auction strategy, Kumble said PBKS worked on "flexibility", went for players with "secondary skills", and tried to build a strong bowling attack.

The former spinner said:

"We needed flexibility. We needed players with a secondary skill. That’s the approach we took. Because with the retention, the choice is not necessarily the franchises’ decision, it is the player’s decision. That’s what the rules are. Once we retained Mayank and Arshdeep (Singh), we wanted to build a team where we could make the bowling strong."

Kumble added:

"When I say strong bowling, we wanted young bowlers, with enough experience to give us the comfort of having a young bowling attack…You look at a (Kagiso) Rabada, Arshdeep, Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar as your four main bowlers, and Odean Smith—he is someone who can bowl a heavy ball. Those are the kind of options we wanted. In Liam Livingstone, we have the flexibility of getting in some spin."

Kumble has been at the helm of the franchise for three years now, throughout which PBKS have not been able to finish higher than sixth. With the squad they've built this year, he's likely to be under more pressure than ever to deliver results.

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"It’s a fresh start for all the 10 franchises" - Anil Kumble

When asked how confident he is of PBKS' chances of winning their maiden IPL title this year, Kumble talked about how it's a "fresh start" for all teams, expressing confidence in his squad's capabilities this year and in the future.

The 51-year-old concluded by saying:

"It’s a fresh start for all the 10 franchises. I think the brand of cricket we wanted to play; we have put together that sort of strategy. We are very happy to be able to get those kinds of players who naturally fit into that strategy rather than force somebody into playing that kind of a role... At the end, you don’t just put together a squad for this year. You invest in a few players who will perhaps be the future."

PBKS will start their IPL 2022 campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium on March 27.