IPL propels India’s new stars onto world stage: Rahul

Saturday, 27 March 2021 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

K.L. Rahul

New Delhi, (AFP): The demands of the Indian Premier League have helped propel the national team’s rising stars onto the international stage, batsman K.L. Rahul said ahead of the second one-day international match against England on Friday.

India thrashed England by 66 runs in the first of the three-match series on Tuesday after standout performances by debutant pace bowler Prasidh Krishna and all-rounder Krunal Pandya.

Krishna returned figures of 4-52, the best by an Indian on his debut, and Pandya hit 50 in 26 balls to record the fastest fifty for an ODI debutant.

“A huge part is the IPL and the confidence that these boys come in with,” Rahul told journalists Thursday.

Rahul said young Indian players compete against top international stars in the IPL and had become consistent performers in the domestic game.

Two other newcomers, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav – also key performers in the cash-rich IPL – stole the limelight in the T20 series against England, the world’s top-rated team.

Rahul suffered a run drought in the T20 matches against England and was dropped for the fifth game, but finally stuck form on Tuesday with 62 not out in the first ODI.

“When you are part of this Indian team, you always know competition would be really high. You can never sit back and feel comfortable,” Rahul said.

He said he was disappointed but not worried about his form and saw the dip as part of a player’s journey.

“You obviously carry your confidence or bad performance into the next series. The hardest thing for a player is to forget what happened a couple of games ago and start afresh,” Rahul said.

India will be forced to make at least one change for the second ODI after middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the series with an injured shoulder suffered in the first game in Pune.

The Delhi Capitals captain will also miss at least the start of the IPL in April. Some media reports said Iyer could be sidelined for two months.

“I’ve been reading your messages and have been overwhelmed by all the outpouring of love and support,” Iyer tweeted on Thursday.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone. You know what they say, the greater the setback, the stronger the comeback. I shall be back soon,” he added.

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