Star India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul stated he hates practicing against Mohammed Shami because the pacer does not let the batter settle in, not just in the match but in practice, too.
In conversations on 25 Questions by ESPNCricinfo, Rahul was asked which bowler he hates facing in the nets, to which the wicketkeeper answered Shami, smiling.
This is interesting as records indicate Shami has generally got the better of Rahul in T20s. Rahul has only scored 31 runs from 28 balls that he has faced against Shami in three seasons of the IPL and has been out twice in the IPL 2022 when Shami’s team, the Gujarat Titans, was pitted against Rahul’s team, the Lucknow Super Giants.
Also, he cited Rashid Khan, star Afghanistan spinner who gives him sleepless nights, to the interviewer’s question about which bowler he would hate to face in a cricket match.
Rashid and Rahul have faced each other, albeit very rarely, in international cricket, having played only once wherein, in a Super 4 game of 2018 Asia Cup in Dubai, Rashid dismissed Rahul for just a single run off his six balls.
Just like Shami, Rashid has had one-upmanship over Rahul in T20s. Of the 47 balls Rahul has faced from the Afghan spinner, he has been able to score a mere 40 runs in exchange for three dismissal; two of these dismissals came during IPL 2018.
To Rahul’s query about three international players he could easily include in his T20 XI, he put forth ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, and Windies Nicholas Pooran.
On being asked which batter’s shot he would like to have stolen, Rahul said, he would like to have the flick shot of Virat Kohli. The wicketkeeper affirmed that it was one of the toughest pitches to keep wickets on in his career due to the enormous turn that it produced at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
When Rahul was asked what innings in test cricket he could watch every ball of, he said it was his 123-run knock against South Africa in Centurion in 2021. It was this knock of his that saw India win the first test of the three-match series against the hosts by a whopping 113 runs.
