Picture Credit: Twitter
India's vice-captain on the South Africa tour, KL Rahul in a conversation with his friend and teammate Mayank Agarwal admitted that a few months ago, he never thought he would get to play Test cricket again. However, he acknowledged that things have taken a turn very quickly. The two players who have played together for Karnataka, Punjab Kings and Team India, spoke to each other in the latest interview for BCCI TV. A glimpse of the same was even shared by the BCCI on their social media handle.
"From playing domestic cricket to donning the whites for #TeamIndia together, the batting duo has come a long way. "@28anand tracks the journey of @klrahul11 & @mayankcricket as they gear up for the SA challenge. #SAvIND Full interview." the short clip was captioned with a link of the full interview.
The two batters, particularly Rahul, said how he has bitter-sweet memories of the Boxing-day Test match. He recalled making his debut in a similar Boxing day Test and then losing his place to his friend Mayank Agarwal in another Boxing-day game. Rahul also acknowledged the wonderful journey the two of them had and hoped that the two of them can now bat together and have a great series as openers in the South Africa tour.
Notably, preferred opener Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the Tests. He was earlier named as the vice-captain for the longest format but once he was ruled out, Rahul was handed the responsibility.
Having Rahul Dravid with us is a huge boost: KL Rahul
KL Rahul also weighed on what new head coach Rahul Dravid brings to the table in the same interaction.
"Having Rahul Dravid with us this time is very helpful. He has played a lot of cricket here, he has scored a lot of runs. In the three or four days of training that we have had, he has had a lot of experiences to share and he is really helping us prepare the best we can. That's a huge boost for us," the 29-year-old said.
"I think you've [Mayank Agarwal] had a great experience with him playing in the India As and you've played a lot of cricket under him," Rahul added before Mayank chipped in with: "For me personally, he has just been a person who talks about understanding your game, understanding yourself and understanding your mind space. If you can work that out, sort that out then more often than not you are giving yourself the best possible chance to succeed."