‘If you fumble, people feel that you can’t replace him’ – KL Rahul on the hardships of filling in MS Dhoni’s boots

Indian cricketer KL Rahul has opened up on how he has been grooming himself after being made the wicketkeeper of the national team. However, he is also wary of the criticism that could come hurling at him since he has been filling in MS Dhoni’s boots. He was handed the gloves after Rishabh Pant developed an injury during India’s three-match ODI series against Australia earlier this year.

The team management was impressed to such an extent that Rahul was given the mantle even on the tour of New Zealand. Talking about hie prowess with the keeping gloves, Rahul said that doing the job for his domestic side, Karnataka, and the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL has got him going.

I was nervous when I was doing it for India: KL Rahul

“People who follow cricket know that I haven’t been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka. I am always in touch with wicket-keeping. I am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to,” Rahul was quoted as saying on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

The 28-year-old also admitted how the crowd root for MS Dhoni when the former makes a goof-up on the field. Even the young Pant has had to bear the brunt of the audience after he fumbled a few and Rahul hasn’t been any different by any means.

“I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble a ball, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps,” he added.

Recently, Rahul auctioned off his 2019 Cricket World Cup bat and raised almost INR 8 lakhs for the ones affected in the massive coronavirus outbreak. On his 28th birthday on April 18, the right-handed batsman donated his personal cricketing equipment to the Bharat Army. The latter auctioned them and Rahul’s bat fetched the highest amount of Rs 2,64,228.