Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul achieved a unique feat on Sunday evening at the Dubai International Stadium after he stepped in to bat in the second innings of their opener against Delhi Capitals. Rahul joined the unique list following his three-dimensional role in the match.
He became the fifth player in the history of the Indian Premier League to feature in a game as a captain, wicketkeeper, and an opener. He joined former KXIP member Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, Kumar Sangakkara, and Parthiv Patel. Gilchrist leads the list with 74 such appearances, followed by McCullum (4), Sangakkara (2) and Parthiv (1). With Rahul set to persist with the role, he is most likely to surpass McCullum as well only to stand behind Gilchrist.
Earlier in the evening, Rahul played a key role in getting KXIP the early breakthrough with the run-out dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan. He also completed the dismissal of Axar Patel and later inflicted the run-out of Marcus Stoinis. And later with the bat, he scored 21 off 19, laced with two boundaries and a six to get KXIP off to a decent start before being dismissed by Mohit Sharma.
This is Rahul's first IPL game as a captain. He was announced as the skipper by the franchise after they had traded off former skipper R Ashwin to Delhi Capitals.
Many veteran cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar feels that the season might prove fruitful in deciding whether Rahul has the ability to take up the captain's role for Team India after Virat Kohli.
