India opener KL Rahul has been facing a lot of criticism from the fans and former cricketers for his back-to-back failed performances. He disappointed everyone with his flop shows during the first two Tests against Australia, which saw him losing his position as the vice-captain for the remaining two Tests. As the series against Australia is going to end on March 22, KL Rahul will be gearing up for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, where he will be leading Lucknow Super Giants as well.

However, the Lucknow-based franchise unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming season on Tuesday, where the team’s mentor and former India batter Gautam Gambhir applauded Rahul and called him a captain with a “balanced head”.

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“It starts with the captain. The captain is the flag bearer of the team. It is the captain’s team. All of us in the dressing room are there to support him. No support staff is under as much pressure as the captain. It is the body language of the captain that will decide how we perform,” said Gambhir during the jersey launch.

“We are very fortunate to have someone like KL Rahul, who has a very stable and balanced head. I wish I had it, I did not have that. I was very extreme, but it did work for me. For a franchise like Lucknow, it is important to have someone like KL at the helm. Going forward, this is going to be a massive positive for us,” he further added.

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As far as IPL goes, KL Rahul has a formidable record with the bat. In 109 matches, he has scored 3889 runs which came at an average of 48.01 and a strike rate of 136.22. Talking about IPL, the 16th edition of the cash-rich league will kick-start on March 31 with the first match between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad as well. Lucknow Super Giants will be playing against Delhi Capitals in their first match on April 1 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.