Jonty Rhodes, the fielding coach of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), has heaped praise on KL Rahul’s captaincy amidst swirling rumors about his potential exit from the franchise or relinquishing the captaincy role.
In an exclusive interaction with *India Today* at the sidelines of the pre-launch event of the Pro Cricket League on August 31 in New Delhi, Rhodes lauded Rahul’s leadership and playing abilities, particularly highlighting his successful tenure over the last three years.
KL Rahul has led LSG since its inception in 2022, guiding the team to the playoffs in two out of three seasons. Rhodes emphasized that Rahul’s ability to steer a new franchise into consistent playoff contention . Despite a disappointing IPL 2024 season, where LSG finished 7th, Rahul’s impact as a captain remains undeniable.
“I think if you look at a record as a captain of a brand-new franchise, getting into the playoffs every time like he has, it’s been something that goes a long way towards his captaincy, to the way that he leads the team and the sort of set up and the approach that he has,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes acknowledged the challenges of leading a franchise in the IPL, particularly with the competition’s expansion to 10 teams. He drew parallels with the successful captains of the past, like Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, emphasizing that while LSG has yet to win a trophy, the process leading up to the achievement is the most crucial task for a team.
“So you know, to look at Rohit’s record as a captain, Dhoni’s record as a captain, the trophies that those guys have won and the consistency that they’ve done to winning trophies, from LSG’s point of view, it might just be one thing getting into the final, winning the trophy,” Rhodes added.
Rahul has done an excellent job at the helm: Rhodes
“It then turns out MI didn’t win a trophy for quite a few years at the start. Once they learned how to win trophies, they kept going and kept going. So I think from that point of view, I think he’s done an excellent job at the helm, with a brand new franchise, setting up a new culture, with new owners and, and that I think is an indication of how well he’s captained the team in a set-up where there are players from all over the country in India who are very different and all over the world,” Rhodes added
The recent meeting between Rahul and LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka at his Kolkata residence fuelled speculation about his future with the team. Moreover, during Zaheer Khan’s presentation as the new LSG mentor, with the side is still up for discussion with the team.
