New Delhi, Jun 8 (IANS): As KL Rahul looks set to don the captain's hat in the five-match T20I series against South Africa beginning here on Thursday, former India pacer Irfan Pathan is confident the swashbuckling cricketer will come out from the test as a good leader.

India will be chasing history during the bilateral series. Should the hosts win the opening match, they will achieve an all-time record of winning 13 consecutive T20Is.

This will be the first time Rahul will be captaining India in a T20 game which begins preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup later in Australia this year.

Pathan said that while it will be a test of skill and the ability to handle pressure for every player in the side, it will be more so for Rahul.

"Definitely, an exam for all the players but most importantly KL Rahul as the leader. I think, so far, whenever you go in the exam, you want to prepare well. He has prepared well -- he has taken Lucknow Super Giants to the (IPL) playoffs and he did well. According to me, he has become better as a captain," opined Pathan on Star Sports' show Follow The Blues.

The former cricketer felt that Rahul's earlier stint as Punjab Kings skipper had given him good leadership experience, which he implemented while leading the Super Giants.

"Because, previously, when he captained Punjab, he was focused more on taking care and understanding his leadership, but eventually, now I feel he is doing better as a captain.

"There's still a lot more scope for improvement and I feel as time passes, he will get better and better. He is calm and a very experienced player. As a captain, I believe he will keep doing better because I have a lot of expectations from him and I'm sure he will come out a good leader," opined Pathan.