KL Rahul Recalls Test Debut, Hails Recieving Maiden Cap From Dhoni As 'Special'

Rahul played his first Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2014 under the captaincy of Dhoni.

India's elegant wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul on Sunday went down memory lane and recalled his Test debut for the national team and termed it a "special feeling" to receive his cap from former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the longest format. During a question and answer session, Rahul was asked by a Twitter user on how he felt after receiving his Test cap from Dhoni. "It was a special and emotional moment for me. I never thought I would get a chance to play in the series and it was a special feeling to get that cap from MS Dhoni," he replied. Rahul played his maiden Test against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 2014 under the captaincy of Dhoni. Rahul had a poor outing with the bat and just scored four runs (3,1) in both innings of the match. However, India managed to draw the game after trailing by 2-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. In the next match, Rahul made a massive impact opening the innings with Murali Vijay and scored his maiden century in his second game. He played a knock of 110 runs in the first innings while he made just 16 in the second innings. The visiting side finally succeeded to draw the match, but India ultimately lost the four-match series by 2-0. The 28-year-old has played 36 Tests for India and amassed 2,006 runs including five centuries and 11 fifties. In 32 ODIs, he scored 1,239 runs with an average of 47.65. In T20Is, he played 42 matches and accumulated 146 runs with two tons and 11 half-centuries. As all sporting events across the world have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rahul is enjoying some time away from cricket. He was phenomenal with the bat in the limited-overs series against Australia and New Zealand. He scored one century and four fifty-plus scores in his last ten innings in ODIs and T20Is combined. Rahul would have been leading the Kings XI Punjab had the IPL commenced from March 29. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.