New Delhi, April 28 || Delhi Capitals (DC) mentor Kevin Pietersen believes KL Rahul’s transformed batting approach for the side in IPL 2025 should translate into a return for the wicketkeeper-batter in India’s T20I set-up.
Rahul last played T20Is for India in 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup, where he made only 128 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 120.75 and came under fire for playing an outdated style of T20 cricket. But since joining DC in IPL 2025, Rahul has reinvented his style of playing T20s, with its base being playing aggressively with greater freedom – as seen from him amassing 364 runs in eight games, with an average of 60.67 and strike-rate of 146.18.
"I think you guys have got plenty of opening batters. You've got Surya who bats at the top, and you've got all of these guys but the way that KL Rahul is playing cricket now, he would be my first choice to bat at four and keep wicket for India," said Pietersen in the post-match press conference, after DC lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six wickets.
On Sunday, Rahul struggled to make 41 off 39 balls against RCB, which happened due to a combination of batting on a pitch offering grip to spinners Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, who constantly attacked stumps. Pietersen, though, appreciated Rahul for expressing a desire to change his approach in T20 cricket.