Australian cricketer Steve Smith is many times considered as the best batsman in red ball cricket. Smith who was handed a 12 month ban for his involvement in ball tampering in South Africa, got back to his feet to again establish himself as one of the finest.
While he is repeatedly matched with Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the best batsman’s label, Steve Smith has let out that KL Rahul is someone he thinks as really formidable.
KL Rahul, who has consolidated his place in the Indian side with consistent performance in the home series against West Indies and Australia and during New Ztaland tour, was deemed as most impressive Indian batsman among the youngsters.
The former Australia skipper answered questions asked by his fans on Instagram on Sunday, also stated that Indian Premier League is his most-liked tournament to play in.
When questioned about which Indian player has made an impression on him the most, Smith said, “KL Rahul. Very good player!”
Rahul, who has featured 36 Tests, 32 ODIs, and 42 T20Is, has become one of the mainstays of the Indian batting line-up after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Apart from displaying his skills with the bat, KL Rahul also bears the responsibility of being the wicketkeeper in the limited overs format. He first took over as the keeper of India when Rishabh Pant was injured in the second ODI against Australia in 2019.
After that, KL Rahul has managed to keep Pant out from the side. Rahul scored 204 runs including a hundred in the ODI series in New Zealand. In the five T20Is, he amassed 224 runs.
When asked about MS Dhoni, Smith responded saying the former Indian captain is a “Legend! Mr Cool”.
Steve Smith, who rated his first innings his 144 at Birmingham during the first Ashes Test 2019 as his favourite Test knock thus far, said the Indian Premier League (IPL) is his favourite tournament.
“Tough to beat the IPL. Playing with and against the best players from around the world.” India is slated to travel to Australian for a full series later this year and Smith said, “Can’‘t wait. Going to be awesome.” Asked about his opinion on India batting great Rahul Dravid, Smith said “what a lovely gentleman and seriously good player.”
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