Ex-India cricketer flabbergasted after KL Rahul is compared with Sachin Tendulkar: 'Who are these people?'

KL Rahul is among top batters of the current generation and is integral to the Indian team in the Test and ODI formats. The 31-year-old is the Men in Blue’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in the 50-over format where he has been a match-winner in recent years, including in the 2023 World Cup and in the Champions Trophy earlier this year.

And with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli having retired from Tests as well as T20Is, Rahul is expected to play an even more crucial role as a senior member of the team.

To compare him with batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, however, isn’t something that any sensible cricket fan, Indian or not, is likely to do. And when former India cricketer Atul Wassan was asked if Rahul in the current Delhi Capitals team could be compared to Tendulkar in the Indian team in the 1990s wherein people switch off their television sets the moment he’s dismissed, it’s safe to say that he was less than impressed.

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“If you talk about KL Rahul and Sachin Tendulkar in the same sentence, then I will go. TVs are getting shut down because KL Rahul is getting out? Who are these people?” Wassan said on the Bails and Banter show on OTTPlay.

Wassan praises Rahul for his technique and confidence

Rahul was bought by the Capitals for Rs 14 crore in the IPL mega auction in November after he parted ways with the Lucknow Super Giants after leading the franchise for three seasons on less-than-amicable terms.

Rahul has been DC’s leading run-scorer this season, scoring 539 runs at an average and strike rate of 53.90 and 149.72 respectively which includes an unbeaten 112 against Gujarat Titans – which made him the first batter in IPL history to score a ton for three different franchises.

Also Read | KL Rahul becomes fastest batter to 5,000 IPL runs

Rahul, however, did not get much support from the rest of the DC batting order with none of his teammates figuring among the top-20 run-scorers. Wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel (301) and South African middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs (300) are the only other batters to score more than 300 runs this season.

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While Wassan shot down the comparison with Tendulkar, who was a lone match-winner for the Men in Blue in the 1990s before the rise of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and other batting icons, he did Rahul for his technique and confidence.

“He doesn’t rely on brute strength but trusts his technique. When he maintains his form, shape, and technique, he can execute risky shots with confidence,” he added.

Delhi Capitals finished their season with a thrilling six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in Jaipur on Saturday, signing off 15 points that currently puts them at the fifth spot.

Rahul got his team off to a solid start with a knock of 35 off 21 balls, stitching a 55-run opening stand with stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis. It was Sameer Rizvi’s unbeaten 58 off 25 balls, however, that ultimately ensured DC chased down the 207-run target set by PBKS with three balls to spare.

After starting the season four consecutive wins, DC lost the plot in the middle and the latter half of the league stage, getting knocked out of the race to the playoffs with lopsided defeats against Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, at which point they were on a five-match winless run.