IPL 2025
Pietersen appreciated Rahul’s desire to modify his approach. © BCCI/IPL
Kevin Pietersen, mentor for Delhi Capitals, has commended KL Rahul’s updated batting style in IPL 2025, asserting that the wicketkeeper-batter should be reinstated to the Indian T20 team. “I’d position KL at number four for India in T20s. You have many good opening batsmen, including Surya, but with the way KL Rahul is performing now, he’d be my top choice for number four and wicketkeeper for India,” Pietersen remarked.
In earlier commentary during the IPL season, Rahul expressed that he needed to return to a more instinctive, boundary-hitting style reminiscent of his early IPL days. “Somewhere along the line, I lost the joy of hitting boundaries and clearing the ropes. I was overly focused on taking the game deep, but now I’m realizing it’s essential to embrace the current T20 era, which is all about hitting bigger,” he noted.
Rahul’s IPL journey began in 2016 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he scored 397 runs with an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 146.49. After missing 2017 due to injury, he quickly bounced back, consistently scoring over 500 runs in five seasons, with four of those exceeding 600. However, outside his stellar 2018 season, his strike rates settled in the 130s.
His roles with Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants involved additional pressure from captaincy, impacting his performance. After the Indian T20I team’s semifinal exit in the 2022 World Cup, in which he only managed 128 runs across six innings with a strike rate of 120.75, Rahul lost his place in the squad.
In the previous IPL season, as batting standards rose and aggressive players set new records, Rahul struggled to keep up, finishing with 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.12, leading to his decrease in prominence with LSG. However, this season with Delhi Capitals, he appears to be regaining his form, playing liberally without the burden of captaincy.
Rahul has also tackled tough batting conditions effectively, as demonstrated by his solid innings of 77 and 93*, with strike rates surpassing 150 and 175 respectively. Although his stats in Delhi may not fully show this newfound approach, he seems poised to revert to his previous style.
Pietersen recognized Rahul’s remarkable progress, emphasizing the 33-year-old’s growth as a cricketer over the past year. “Since late last year, KL has been playing very positively. It’s commendable how he’s adapted his game after being taught traditional techniques in his youth,” Pietersen remarked.
© Cricbuzz
