Delhi Capitals (DC) batter KL Rahul has spoken about how tough IPL captaincy can be, explaining how it takes a toll on a player and highlighting the factors that make it more exhausting than playing international cricket.
In a conversation with Jatin Sapru on the show Humans of Bombay, Rahul said, “What I found hard as a captain in the IPL was the number of meetings you needed to have, the number of reviews you needed to do, and the explanations required at the ownership level. I realised that at the end of the IPL, I am more mentally and physically drained than after playing ten months of international cricket.”
The former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper also shared that IPL captains face questions they do not encounter in international cricket. “Coaches and captains are constantly being asked a lot of questions… Why did you make this change? Why did he play in the XI? Why did the opposition get 200 and we couldn’t even get 120? These are questions we never get asked throughout the year, right? Because the coaches who are there know what’s going on. You are only answerable to the coaches and the selectors, who have all played cricket and understand the nuances of the game,” he added.
Rahul mentioned that it becomes even tougher when franchise officials come from a “non-sporting background”.
“That’s hard to explain to people who come from a non-sporting background,” he said.
Having played close to 150 games in the cash-rich league, Rahul opened up on the challenges by saying, “What makes the IPL hard is the number of games we play in a two-month period… Sometimes those two months fly by before we even get to know our team-mates fully… While all this is happening, we are shooting for commercials and all of that.”
After being retained by DC, Rahul will be seen in action for the Delhi-based franchise when the new season kicks off next year.
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