The last few months have not been smooth for KL Rahul, who had a very tough time in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with the bat and leading the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) team, before he was dropped from the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, in the United States of America and West Indies.
The captain KL Rahul had an intense moment too during the IPL 2024, when he was seen getting in a heated chat with the owner of the franchise, as they finished in the seventh spot and failed to make it to the playoffs for the very first time in three seasons.
The India opening batter took a break from the game after such a tough time with the end of the 20-over league, as he went for a vacation trip to charge the batteries and look to shape himself by being away from the game for a little time.
In Rohit Sharma’s absence, KL Rahul could lead India in ODIs in Sri Lanka
KL Rahul scored runs in the IPL 2024, but the intensity with which he scored those runs wasn’t up to the mark, as there were times when his struggling strike rate didn’t help the team put up a formidable score in the innings.
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The wicket-keeper batter ended the 17th season of the competition, with 520 runs in 14 games, at an average of around 37 and a strike rate of 137, besides celebrating four half-centuries with a best score of 82 runs.
The Karnataka player recently turned up for training to get himself back in the format, as he looked to earn the spot back during the upcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka. The batter’s wife, Athiya Shetty, took her Instagram profile to share a few glimpses of the practice session through a story.
During the last ODI World Cup in 2023, at home, KL Rahul was quite incredible in his batting performances, where he managed to get 452 runs in 10 innings, at an average of 75.33, with a strike rate of around 91, celebrating a century and a couple of fifties, with a best of 102-run knock.
The way he showed his keeping skills was quite fantastic, as his sharpness against the spinners, with his foot movement and hands being moved around, you could sense how much the veteran has worked behind his keeping. Rishabh Pant being back in the game after his injury, could do the gloves.
There was news that India’s captain Rohit Sharma, who played his last ODI against Australia in the final of that World Cup 2023, could extend his break from the game, after enjoying the success of the T20 World Cup 2024, and in that case, KL Rahul is a good option to lead the ODI side in Sri Lanka.
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KL Rahul has the experience of being the captain of the side, as he was during the 2022 South Africa tour when Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy position. The management and the selectors are looking to also offer breaks to Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and other senior members of the side, keeping in mind the long home schedule and the upcoming Australia tour towards the end of the year.
‘Both are automatic choices in the ODI set up and the three 50-over games against England before the Champions Trophy is good enough practice for them.’ A top source of the Board of Control for Cricket in India told PTI about the current development. ‘For next few months, they both will prioritize Tests and India will play 10 of them between September to January.’
The series will start on July 26, when the ODI games will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
