IPL 2020: KL Rahul to ask ‘hero’ MS Dhoni ‘to go easy on Kings XI Punjab’

Dubai: Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain KL Rahul has described MS Dhoni’s retirement from international cricket as an emotional moment for the whole country and for world cricket. Also, the Karnataka batsman said Dhoni was a hero for all the cricketers coming from small towns.

Ahead of IPL 2020, Rahul spoke to IPL’s official website and paid rich tributes to Dhoni, who retired on August 15. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman will continue to play the IPL as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper.

Dhoni and Rahul are already in the UAE for IPL 2020 which will be played from September 19 to November 10.

“It was quite an emotional moment for the whole country and for world cricket. We have all grown up wanting to be MS Dhoni. Especially for someone like me who comes from a small town, he was our hero. We always told our families look that it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can always go and try and achieve your dreams and play for your country and serve for your country,” Rahul said on Tuesday (August 25) in a video posted on IPL’s official Twitter page.

“I don’t know. I am quite sure I won’t have enough words to express or tell him when I meet him. I will just give him a long hug and say thank you and probably ask him to go easy on Kings XI this year,” Rahul added.

With Dhoni’s exit from international cricket, Rahul is likely to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in limited-overs cricket.