Pooran to keep as LSG want Rahul 'close to bowlers'
LSG want their skipper to play a different role as they have plenty of keeping options
In the recent ODI series against Australia earlier this month, KL Rahul kept wickets for Team India, took three catches and batted well too. Before that, he did the same job against Sri Lanka in January. And he has a good chance of continuing to do the same job in the upcoming World Cup for Team India in India as regular keeper Rishabh Pant is injured.
But the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) would rather have him on the field and talking to bowlers during the Indian Premier League. LSG begin their campaign against Delhi Capitals on Saturday, and West Indies’ Nicolas Pooran would be keeping the wickets for the side as the regular keeper Quinton de Kock is certain to miss the first two matches as he is still with South Africa team, playing against Ireland in the home series.
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“Rahul has got a different role to play here in the Indian Premier League as we have plenty of options to keep wickets," said the team’s chief coach Andy Flower on the eve of the team’s first-ever match in Lucknow on Friday. "We want him to be close to bowlers so that he could keep chatting and discuss things with bowler as skipper.”
“Pooran would be keeping wickets for the side in a couple of matches as de Kock won’t be here for the first two matches. The team wants Rahul to stay focused on his captaincy as this is what I see as his role for the side. He has been a wonderful batter and we are hopeful to see him scoring runs like he did in the last season,” said Flower, adding, “I enjoy Rahul’s batting in T20 cricket.”
Flower, however, refused to cast doubt on Rahul’s form as a batter despite his recent struggles.
"He is looking in good shape and Rahul’s contribution with willow did great for the team as we finished third and lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator. I am sure that Rahul’s bat will do the talking against in the league this season too and we are aiming for a podium finish.”
In contrast to the Lucknow Super Giants, the Delhi Capital’s team management haven't quite managed to get a fix for their keeper problem. With Pant ruled out, DC has plenty of options but no clear pick yet.
“We have four keepers in the ranks, including Abhishek Porel and Sarfaraz Khan," said DC skipper David Warner. "We are looking for our options as per the condition of the pitch and situation."
DC also believe the Impact Player will make the league very interesting.
“For the first match, every team would be a bit cautious to pick the impact player," said Ponting. "We are keeping an eye on the first two matches as to how they make use of the Impact Player rule, and I am sure this will help us do our planning better for the match against Lucknow Super Giants. This rule is very exciting, but teams would be required to use this intelligently, especially on a spinner-friendly wicket."
