Former Pakistan gun fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar gave credit to Virat Kohli for the rise of KL Rahul in the recent past. Rahul has been a consistent performer in the IPL and recently became the first player to score more than 500 runs in the consecutive five seasons of the tournament.

Rahul has led Lucknow Super Giants from the front and played a key role in taking the franchise to the playoff stages. The flamboyant batter has scored 537 runs in 14 matches of the ongoing Tata IPL 2022 at an average of 48.32 and a strike rate of 135.26.

Rahul has been instrumental in giving good starts to LSG along with his opening partner Quinton de Kock. On the other hand, KL Rahul has also grabbed his opportunities in the Test format and had performed consistently in the tough English conditions in 2021.

Rahul had received a lot of backing from Virat Kohli, when the latter was the national team’s captain. The Karnataka batter was finally able to grab his chances and has proved his mettle.

Speaking on Sportskeeda, Shoaib Akhtar said: “Virat Kohli invested a lot in KL Rahul (when he was the Indian captain). He pushed him up to open and made him a permanent member of the Indian team. Rahul is a nice and sensible guy. He has been able to prove himself and has successfully shown that he is a serious contender for India and in the IPL as well. I think KL Rahul is going to be a major factor in the match.”

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Express, as Akhtar is famously known, believes KL Rahul will need to control the game by getting the crowd on his side. But i won’t be easy as Virat Kohli has a huge fan following.

“The two new teams, Lucknow and Gujarat, had to prove a point and they have been doing that very well. I would go with KL Rahul (for this game). Let’s see if Rahul is able to get the crowd support by controlling the game. He needs to focus hard on those two seconds every ball.”

LSG will face RCB at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in Eliminator on Wednesday.