ABU DHABI, Jan 14: IPL franchise Lucknow Supergiants coach Andy Flower believes that KL Rahul can be an excellent skipper for the Indian team.
Rahul has captained India in seven ODI’s, three Tests and one T20I with decent success.
He was once considered Rohit Sharma’s successor across formats but the emergence of Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to title triumph in the team’s maiden season in IPL, changed a lot of things.
Flower, who is currently giving his services to Gulf Giants, a franchise owned by Adani Sportsline and participating in the International League T20, has high hopes from his IPL captain.
Flower said Rahul has great batting skills and can lead the team well.
“KL is a superb batter, beautiful to watch, I love watching him bat always. I first came across him when I was coaching England Lions. We played against India A in Trivandrum so I have been a keen follower of him as a batsman since then,” Flower said.
The Zimbabwe great praised Rahul’s captaincy too.
“He is also an outstanding young man and really good leader, he is very calm, measured, he is good company. I respect him and really enjoy working with him.”
When asked about Pandya and players such as Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, Flower said, “What I know of him (Rahul), he will be an excellent skipper. I don’t know the other guys very well so can’t comment on that, selectors might see that.”
He wished Rahul a great married life ahead. Rahul is set to tie the knot with Bollywood actress Athiya Shetty.
Flower is coaching league teams in various countries and said that he enjoys his role with franchises.
“At the moment I am fairly busy throughout the year due to franchise cricket. I really enjoy the professional challenge of moving from team to team and deception of my coaching style through what the team needs and it’s also wonderful to experience different cultures in various countries and teams.” (PTI)
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