This Rahul is ‘ton’tastic!

Cast your eyes on him, and his trendy hairdo and funky tattoos are the first to catch your attention — a reflection of his spunky style. But strike a conversation with this able cricketer, and his maturity will take you by surprise.

After making an impressive ton in the T20 game against West Indies, Rahul now has centuries in all three formats of the game on international turf. “I hope I keep performing the same way and go from strength to strength. We have some very competitive teams coming in the next six to eight months. With all the games being played in India, it will be challenging. I’ve had a good season starting from April, but I have to leave that behind me and take the confidence and form into the next couple of months and give better performances,” he says.

His RCB teammate Chris Gayle showered praise on him and said that the young bloke would give Virat Kohli a run for his money. What does he have to say about Gayle’s statement “It’s good to hear someone like Chris giving me compliments, but it’s too early for me to do it. All I can say is I will work as hard as I possibly can and try to replicate whatever he’s done for the country. Virat’s consistency, dedication and passion for the game is amazing. We feel lucky to be playing with him and have him as captain, I hope I can give him a run for his money.”

Interestingly, the tale behind Rahul’s name is an amusing one. His dad, an avid fan of Sunil Gavaskar decided to name his son after his idol’s son. Only after naming him Rahul did he realise that Gavaskar’s son’s name is Rohan — “As for my mom, she says she was an SRK fan and that’s why they chose the name Rahul!”

Speaking about his sense of style, he says, “If I think I can carry something off, I’ll go out there and do it confidently and I think that reflects on my game as well. I’m not shy to be adventurous, on and off the field. I like to experiment with my hair, there’s only a certain age when you can do all this. When you’re 30, married and have kids, you can’t do all this! I always love keeping myself updated about fashion.”

When we ask how he deals with the female attention, he replies, “I’ve always gotten attention from the ladies, but I never let it get to my head. I enjoy it, but don’t think too much of it. They all love the cricketer Rahul, but only my friends and family know the real me,” he says.