'He's got a sound temperament': Wasim Jaffer on KL Rahul's appointment as KXIP skipper

Wasim Jaffer has revealed why the Kings XI Punjab have named KL Rahul as their captain for the IPL 2020 that will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. Rahul was roped in by the 2014 finalists during the IPL 2018 Auctions after he was released by three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore along with Windies power-hitter Chris Gayle and has been instrumental with the bat for the Punjab franchise in the last two editions of the tournament.

Rahul will be succeeding veteran off-spinner Ravichandran  Ashwin who had led the side in the previous two seasons. The Test specialist was released in last year's auctions and will now be trying his luck in Delhi Capitals. 

'He has got a sound temperament': Wasim Jaffer

“Rahul should be able to do well, there is no doubt about it because he is quite a stable guy. He has been around, has played so many IPLs, so he knows how to go about it. He led in a few games last year. He is probably one of the most important members of our team. He carries the batting of Kings XI Punjab, he keeps wickets. And being behind the stumps will also help him,” said the veteran Test batsman while speaking to  Rediff.com.

“Importantly, he has got a sound temperament. He has been around in the Indian set-up, he has played with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he has played with Virat Kohli and he has played in so many IPLs so I don’t think it will be a huge problem for him to captain Kings XI. A lot of other people are also there to help him, so it looks good,” the former Ranji Trophy winner added. 

According to a report by InsideSport, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the first set of teams that will board their respective chartered flights and travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Satish Menon, the CEO of KXIP while speaking to the publication, said that all is well with the KXIP squad and once the team lands in UAE, the players will be quarantined for 6 days as per the protocols. He further said that some of KXIP's international players will join the team in UAE itself by next week.

(Image Courtesy: BCCI/IPL)