After a career-defining season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2016, injury saw KL Rahul sit out the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Now, he is ready to be a part of season 11 of the cash-rich league. But this time around, he will be playing for Kings XI Punjab (XIP).

During a recent media interaction with Cricketnext, the talented youngster didn’t show any signs of complacency in his attitude. Even his conviction to play cricket wasn’t changed one bit since being picked in the Indian team on the back of back-to-back hundreds in the final of the 2013 Duleep Trophy final.

Also read: Virat Kohli Enforces Yo-Yo Test on RCB Players

When he was asked if he had goosebumps starting a new journey with KXIp, Rahul said: “You are always excited to start any new journey in life and this is one such thing. Yes, I have learned a lot from RCB and other franchises like Sunrisers Hyderabad. This will be a new experience and I am looking forward to it. Like I said, the way I play the game doesn’t change. It will just be more responsibility on me and I love being that person that the team looks up to when it comes to winning games and also really looking forward to a couple of months in Punjab.”

Rahul praised Kohli

When it comes to looking up to teammates, Rahul didn’t shy away from accepting the fact that the India skipper Virat Kohli has been a huge inspiration. He said, “He is an extremely good player and we all know the numbers that he has achieved in the years that he has played so yeah, he is a big inspiration and it is great to have a captain like him in the team who leads from the front.”

While Rahul did not have any impactful performance in the Sout Africa tour, he has learned a lot being around the big boys of the team in the last year and a half. He said, “Being with the national team, you are always put under a lot of pressure, not just with your skills, but mentally and physically all the time. You kind of figure out a way on how to keep yourself motivated, how to keep fit and how to keep performing day-in and day-out and those are the things that I have learned from the big boys in the Indian team who keep doing so well consistently.”

Also read: KL Rahul carrying on positive attitude 

Coming back to the IPL, Rahul is KXIP’s first-choice wicket-keeper and talking about the same, Lokesh said, “When it comes to training, it has changed a lot. I am not used to keeping wickets for a long time. It’s been the IPL and a few matches here and there for my state. Physically, I have changed the way I train as I have to keep day-in and day-out for a long time as it takes a lot out of my body. I am looking to get stronger and hopefully keep away from injuries.”

Interestingly, Rahul must be said to be one of the most versatile cricketers around. He opens in Test matches, bats in the middle-order in the shorter formats and even keeps wickets when it comes to T20 cricket.