Dumbstruck in front of Rohit Sharma, just like others with Sachin: KL Rahul

KL Rahul has said that he gets dumbstruck in front of Rohit Sharma like others used to do with Sachin Tendulkar.

Speaking to Boria Majumdar on his show called Inspiration, Rahul said he is a huge fan of Rohit Sharma and he gets dumbstruck in front of him.

Earlier, Rohit had said that Rahul is team India’s first choice opener in T20Is. Responding to that comments, Rahul said that he is humbled to hear it from Rohit.

“Humbled by Rohit’s words (that KL Rahul is the first choice and then it’s decided between me and Dhawan in T20Is). I have been a huge fan of his batting and I have played with him for a few years now but he is someone who is in the team, how do I say, like some cricketers get dumbstruck after watching Sachin Tendulkar, they don’t know what to say. When I am with Rohit off the field I have still not been able to get through,” he said.

He also said that Rohit has always shown a lot of faith in him from his early days.
“But he is someone in the team who has given me that sense that he has a lot of faith in me and as a senior player I have seen that he has backed me and stood by by me on a lot of instances. When senior players feel like there is a guy who can take responsibility and can be amongst one of the senior players that gives a young player or a player who has not played consistently for the country a lot of confidence,” Rahul added.

Rahul also said that he had always had to compete for his spot and it has motivated him to perform well. “Ever since I have come in the team in 2014, in Test matches or ODIs or T20Is there has always been a healthy competition for the opening slot or number 4 position. There have been a few slots you know that you can never take for a while at least. There has always been a healthy competition and players enjoy it as it motivates us to put harder and harder. It stops us from being lazy and complacent and that is what we are striving for. It is amazing,” he said.