Was a dream to play in all the formats, says Rahul

Impressive batting by Karnataka’s KL Rahul and Karun Nair in the ongoing Indian Premier League were rewarded with places in the Indian limited-overs squad that will tour Zimbabwe next month for a short series (three ODIs and as many T20Is).

“Obviously I’m very happy to be picked for the tour,” said Rahul who has also retained his spot in the Test squad for West Indies tour in July-August.

“And it was my dream to play all the three formats for my country. The happiness to be selected hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m unable to express my happiness actually.”

Rahul, who also keeps for his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, is the third highest run-getter (386) behind skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. More than the number of runs, the strike rate (almost 148 runs per 100 balls) at which he has scored them has been the striking feature of his batting this season.

“Some branded me as Test player but I didn’t think about it at all,” Rahul pointed out.
“But playing alongside Virat (Kohli) and ABD has been very inspirational. They play all the formats and playing with them has helped me evolve. I will right now think about winning the matches for RCB and after that, I will shift my focus on performing for India,” he remarked.

His State-mate Nair finished as the second highest run-getter for Delhi Daredevils who crashed out of IPL after their defeat to RCB on Sunday.

“I'm overjoyed,” he reacted. “I can't say I expected it, but it's always at the back of your mind when you're batting well. You know there's a chance, but it's better not to have any knid of expectations; you will not be disappointed later,” he offered.

With an aggregate of 357 runs in 14 matches, he won the selectors’ nod. “I'm happy but not satisfied,” he said of performance in this IPL. “I could've done better. I couldn't convert starts in many of the games. I'm a little bit disappointed with that but happy overall.”

Besides Rahul and Nair, Karnataka’s middle-order batsman Manish Pandey has retained his place in the limited-overs team while Stuart Binny will travel to West Indies with Test squad.