KL Rahul's return to the Indian Premier League will give a significant shot in Lucknow Super Giants' arm as the franchise looks for a season more than just impressive. The franchise made it to the playoffs in both of the previous seasons but could not cross the Eliminator on both occasions.
Notably, the new head coach of the franchise Justin Langer has said that if Rahul performs well in the IPL, the reward will be a T20 World Cup slot for the star batter. "If the team does well, everyone gets rewarded.
If KL can captain LSG to the IPL title, that means he would have captained well, batted well and kept wickets well," Langer replied to a PTI query during a season-opening media interaction on Wednesday.
LSG's Ravi Bishnoi is also looking for a place in the T20 World Cup and is seemingly the favourite to be one of the spinners of the team for the global tournament. "The message for players, like KL or Bishi (Bishnoi) will be that the more they concentrate on playing well for LSG, their chances (of WT20 call-up) will increase," he added.
Langer does not provide an update on when Rahul will return to wicket-keeping
According to a PTI report, Rahul has been told to not keep wickets for the initial part of the tournament and Langer did not provide the time when he can return to don the gloves. "He has followed all the 'Return To Play' protocols and he has been hitting a lot of balls," he said.
David Willey will be missing out on the initial phase of the tournament due to personal reasons and Langer says the bowling is thin on experience. "It is a very good observation that we lack some experience in the pace department but there is enormous talent. The pacers -- they all look fit, healthy and hungry. We need to manage them well not just at the start but through the whole tournament. Among pacers Naveen (ul Haq) has played a lot of T20 cricket," the Aussie said.
Meanwhile, Rahul has joined the Lucknow Super Giants squad and the team is set to kick start its campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on March 24.
