LSG's Jonty Rhodes lauds KL Rahul's captaincy and compares franchise to Mumbai Indians, says 'MI didn't win a trophy for quite a few years'

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fielding coach Jonty Rhodes has lauded KL Rahul's captaincy in last three years despite the team not making into the playoffs in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 edition. Amidst uncertainties over Rahul's retention ahead of the mega auction, Rhodes said that Rahul's record as captain for a franchise that entered the IPL in 2022 is great.
 

"I think if you look at a record as a captain of a brand-new franchise, getting into the playoffs every time like he has, it's been something that goes a long way towards his captaincy, to the way that he leads the team and the sort of set up and the approach that he has," Rhodes told India Today in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of Pro Cricket League’s pre-launch event.
 

Rhodes compared him to great captains like Rohit Shar and MS Dhoni. He feels that LSG are not too far away from winning the trophy.
 

"So you know, to look at Rohit's record as a captain, Dhoni's record as a captain, the trophies that those guys have won and the consistency that they've done to winning trophies, from LSG's point of view, it might just be one thing getting into the final, winning the trophy," Rhodes added.

 

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‘Rahul has done an excellent job’

Rhodes also noted Rahul's contribution in creating a culture and how he handled new players from all parts of the country.
 

"It then turns out MI didn't win a trophy for quite a few years at the start. Once they learned how to win trophies, they kept going and kept going. So I think from that point of view, I think he's done an excellent job at the helm, with a brand new franchise, setting up a new culture, with new owners and, and that I think is an indication of how well he's captained the team in a set-up where there are players from all over the country in India who are very different and all over the world," the 55-year-old further added.

 

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Rahul’s future uncertain

Earlier this week, LSG announced former India pacer Zaheer Khan as their mentor. Before that, Rahul met LSG franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka in Kolkata. The franchise is yet to confirm whether Rahul will retain his position as captain or not. 
 

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