IPL 2022: Gavaskar terms Rahul-de Kock opening pair for Lucknow as 'devastating'

Indian wicketkeeper-opener KL Rahul is with a new team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. He will be leading the latest franchise in the lucrative tournament, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He is expected to open alongside South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, while legendary former Indian Little Master Sunil Gavaskar has rated the pair as 'devastating'.

Rahul played for Punjab Kings (PBKS) for the last four seasons, besides leading the side in the past couple of seasons, with no success. However, he has been in tremendous form with the bat and is expected to fire alongside de Kock. The South African played the previous three seasons with record former five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and was deadly for them in the last two editions.

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Giving his verdict on the duo, Gavaskar told Star Sports, "The best part about Quinton de Kock is that he also has captaincy experience. He has been a captain of South Africa and knows all game formats. He knows what team building is all about because we are now talking about a different team. He will be very keen to contribute to the team-building process. KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock's right hand and the left-hand combination makes a devastating opening pair, and they can get the team off to a flying start."

"When he [Rahul] was the captain of Punjab Kings, he seemed to be preoccupied. Maybe, he was not getting the 11 that he wanted. The new franchise Lucknow Super Giants will be a different challenge for KL. If he could bat the way he did in previous seasons and take the team to the knockouts, if not the finals, he would have taken a big step forward as far as his cricketing career is concerned," concluded Gavaskar.