Lucknow Supergiants Coach Justin Langer It is positive that a good outing in the upcoming IPL 2024 will boost KL Rahul’s chances of making it to the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. While the LSG captain was a key member of India’s ODI World Cup squad last year, his place in the T20 team is not guaranteed.
The right-handed batsman has not played a T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Of late, the selectors tried Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order and he did well.
In 17 games, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored over 500 runs with the help of one century and four half-centuries and is likely to be part of India’s squad for the T20 World Cup. As far as KL Rahul is concerned, the chances are not very bright but Langer believes that the situation could change if he performs well in IPL 2024. The former Australia opener stated that both KL Rahul and Ravi Bishnoi could be part of the India. contingent if they do well in the IPL.
“If KL can captain LSG to the IPL title, that means he would have been a good captain, batted well and kept wickets well. The message for players like KL and Bishi (Bishnoi) would be that the more they focus on doing well for LSG, their (T20 World Cup) chances will increase.” Langer said.
Justin Langer on KL Rahul’s availability:
Langer also gave an update on KL Rahul’s availability for the first game. The right-handed batsman has not played a competitive match since the first Test against England in January. He suffered a quadriceps strain in the series opener and missed the last four Tests. He also had to travel to London to consult a specialist and recently returned to India.
Asked about the captain’s availability, Langer said: “He will be present for the first time with the boys. Everyone is waiting for him. He’s been working really hard, practicing, hitting a lot of balls.
With Ishan Kishan unlikely to be picked in the team and Rishabh Pant also unlikely to be a certainty, KL Rahul has a good chance of being dropped from the T20I squad. A good outing in IPL 2024 will practically put him in the race for the T20 World Cup.