Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers are responsible for shaping me into a good player: Lokesh Rahul

Lokesh Rahul now seems to have the backing of Test skipper Virat Kohli, who prefers to have fit and hard working players in the squad.

New Delhi: Lokesh Rahul's meteoric rise across formats is excellent news for Indian cricket.

The Karnataka batsman, who made his Test debut against Australia at Melbourne in 2014, had the reputation of being suited to the traditional format of the game. However, since IPL 2016, he has emerged as a totally different player.

In a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) line-up, Rahul was in senational form where he slammed several top knocks at the top of the order.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Rahul credited RCB teammates Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for guiding him to become the player he is today.

"Virat and AB have been really, really good, they've guided me, they've tried to advise and shape me into a good player. They knew that I was good enough to play for the country and I could do well. I just needed a little bit of confidence from players like that and little bit of advise and for them to share their experiences and what they did right when they were going through a lean patch, or when they were getting big runs, so to learn from them did help me a lot," he said.

Rahul now seems to have the backing of Test skipper Virat Kohli, who prefers to have fit and hard working players in the squad.

Barring Suresh Raina, Rahul is the only Indian cricketer to have scored tons in all three formats.