Follow UsLucknow Super Giants (LSG) eased into the playoffs without much fuss but lost the Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 14 runs to bow out of the India Premier League (IPL) 2022.
KL Rahul, who has often come under scrutiny for leaving it too late, scored 79 off 58 but his side managed just 193 in response to RCB's 2017, after Rajat Patidar, scored his maiden T20 ton.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that the pressure of being the captain and the main player in the side is not Rahul's strength and is perhaps is made of a different mettle than Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.
"We've seen enough of KL Rahul to now know that when he becomes this player, the captain, the key player of the side… I mean Virat Kohli loves that kind of responsibility. Dhoni loved it. I think Rohit Sharma, barring this season, generally likes that kind of responsibility," Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
"Maybe KL Rahul temperamentally is not suited to take this kind of responsibility where he is the man who's got to get the job done. They are just made of different mettle and maybe KL Rahul isn't."
"As a coach, I would drill that into his head to tell him that I'm not expecting you to win the game.
"You just go and have fun, and funnily enough, you'll see the results start coming and that's why I believe he has a much better strike rate at the international level rather than at the IPL level because he's just one of the many batters.
"He's playing alongside Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and the others, so he just goes out there and expresses himself."
With Rohit rested for the T20Is against South Africa, Rahul will lead India in the upcoming series.