“When I was Australian coach, I never used to relax until Virat Kohli and KL Rahul got out” - Justin Langer

Former Australian Test opener and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer has heaped praise on franchise skipper KL Rahul, describing him as an elegant and dangerous player. He also said that during his tenure as Australia coach, he never used to relax in matches against India until Rahul and Virat Kohli got out.

Rahul is currently part of the Indian Test team in South Africa. He scored a hard-fought hundred in the first innings of the Centurion Test, which India ended up losing by an innings and 32 runs. The 31-year-old has been captaining LSG in the IPL since 2022.

In a video uploaded on Lucknow Super Giants’ official X handle, Langer praised Rahul and said the following:

"When I was an Australian coach and we had a series against India, I never used to relax until Virat Kohli and KL Rahul got out. Because he is (Rahul) so dangerous player and he is such a beautiful elegant looking player.”

According to the former Aussie batter, Rahul stands out due to his ability to counter both pace and spin effectively.

"He has experience. He can play to both sides of the ground. He plays spin and quick bowling well. I feel really grateful and I feel blessed to have a captain like KL Rahul. I am excited about that (teaming with KL Rahul)," Langer added.

Rahul has the experience of 118 IPL matches in which he has scored 4,163 runs at an average of 46.78 and a strike rate of 134.42 with four hundreds and 33 fifties.

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KL Rahul recently opened up overcoming injury woes

While the right-handed batter has been in great form since making a comeback to international cricket following a thigh injury he suffered during IPL 2023, he admitted that the path to recovery was challenging.

Rahul said that things were difficult both mentally and physically especially since the World Cup was coming up.

"I couldn't walk for the first three or four weeks [after having a surgery]. I was on the walker and, then slowly started building myself up during all that time. I don't think it's possible to make it in time for the World Cup - that's what the surgeon told us as well. He said it will take five months from the time of surgery," he added.

Rahul, however, recovered in time and played a key role in India’s World Cup campaign, scoring 452 runs in 11 matches at an average of 75.33.