T20 World Cup 2021 Player profile: KL Rahul

KL Rahul will be one of the frontrunners to seal the spot as the opener alongside Rohit Sharma in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Although he made a comeback to the limited-overs format earlier this year as a middle-order batter, the Karnataka batsman, courtesy of another whopping IPL season with the willow, just might be thrust up the order to get India off to explosive starts.

This will be the second marquee ICC event that Rahul will be part of. He was one of the players who had a decent outing in India's 2019 World Cup semifinal run. Rahul amassed 361 runs from nine matches at an average of 45.12, including a hundred and a couple of fifties to his name.

Rahul has had a rich T20I career, although he was always tipped to be a solid Test batter. The 29-year-old has stacked up 1557 runs from 49 matches at an average of 39.92 and a strike rate of 142.19. The IPL 2021 saw him score a prolific 626 runs from 13 matches, comprising six half-centuries.

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KL Rahul's T20 form in his last 10 games

Returning as the skipper of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL, KL Rahul played six games for the franchise, scoring a two fifties and a couple of 30+ scores. His swashbuckling unbeaten 98* against the Chennai Super Kings proved futile as the side failed to make the playoffs.

Prior to the IPL, KL Rahul had a disappointing outing for India, having collected just 15 runs from four matches against England. However, his recent run may just overshadow the dismal outing for the country he had earlier this year.

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Why is KL Rahul a vital cog for India in the T20 WC Cup?

The stats mentioned above speak for themselves. KL Rahul at his best is bad news for any opposition as he quickly converts his steady starts to explosive knocks. His maturity, game awareness and solid technique make him the perfect foil alongside Rohit Sharma, who comes with a wealth of experience — 9446 runs at a strike rate of 133.32 with six hundreds and 65 fifties.

Sharma's run slump will be an easy wrinkle to work on, considering Rahul can take the pressure off the Mumbai batter. This, coupled with the fact that he can keep wickets, makes him a valuable asset.

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Expert opinion: Brett Lee backs Rahul to score heavily

This will be KL Rahul's first T20 World Cup since he was not included in the squad for the 2016 World Cup. While we wait for him to make his debut, former Aussie quick Brett Lee has full faith in him to excel at the tournament.

"I've backed KL Rahul to get the most runs in the competition," Lee told Foxsports.com.au. "I think he is coming off a great IPL, he's the pillar that the guys can build around him because it takes the pressure off Kohli if Rahul is scoring runs."

The 44-year old also feels that making KL Rahul the focal point in the batting line-up would allow Virat Kohli to play his natural game.

"It allows Kohli to just play his natural game," said Lee. "And obviously with Kohli and the captaincy, it's probably his last crack at it so he'll want to go out on a high."