Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer is positive a good outing in the upcoming IPL 2024 will increase KL Rahul’s chances of making it to the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. While the LSG captain was a key member of India’s squad for last year’s ODI World Cup, his spot in the T20 team is not guaranteed.
The right-handed batsman has not played a T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. In recent times, the selectors tried out Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order and he has done well.
In 17 games, Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored over 500 runs with the help of a century and four half-centuries and is likely to be a part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup. As far as KL Rahul is concerned, the chances are not very bright but Langer believes that the situation could change if he performs well in IPL 2024. The former Australia opener stated that KL Rahul as well as Ravi Bishnoi could be a part of the Indian contingent if they do well in the IPL.
“If KL can captain LSG to the IPL title, that means he would have captained well, batted well, and kept wickets well. The message for players like KL and Bishi (Bishnoi) would be that the more they concentrate on doing well for LSG, their chances (of T20 World Cup) will increase,” said Langer.
Justin Langer on KL Rahul’s availability:
Langer also delivered an update on KL Rahul’s availability for the first game. The right-handed batsman has not played a competitive game since the first Test against England in January. He suffered a quadricep strain in the series opener and missed the last four Tests. He also had to travel to London to consult a specialist and recently returned to India.
Asking on the captain’s availability, Langer said: “He will be around for the first time with the boys. Everyone is looking forward to it. He has been working really hard, practicing, hitting a lot of balls.
With Ishan Kishan unlikely to be picked in the squad and Rishabh Pant not a certainty either, KL Rahul does have a good chance of earning a recall from the T20I team. A good outing in IPL 2024 will pretty much put him in contention for the T20 World Cup.
Leave feedback about this