Since the end of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been a lot of discussions around the place of India’s wicket-keeper batter and the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), KL Rahul, and whether he would look to go into the auction or if his franchise would retain him for the next three editions.
During their game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, where his team failed to defend a decent score and was belted around the park by the craziest opening partnership of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, KL Rahul was seen to be engaged in an argument with the owner of the franchise, Sanjeev Goenka, at the end of the encounter.
The opening batter had an average season with the bat, where he smashed 520 runs in 14 innings at a decent average of 37.14 but at an unsatisfied strike rate of 136.13 with the help of four half-centuries at a best score of 82 runs.
KL Rahul hopes to partner Virat Kohli in RCB for IPL 2025
The former Indian captain across formats is the 11thhighest run-getter of the IPL history, where he has collected 4683 runs in 123 innings at an average of 45.46 and a strike rate of 134.60, shouldering on four centuries and 37 half-centuries with the best score of unbeaten 132-run knock.
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In his old days, playing for the Punjab Kings, during the 2018 season, KL Rahul blasted 659 runs in 14 innings at an average of 54.91 and a strike rate of nearly 160, thanks to the six half-centuries with a best score of unbeaten 95 runs.
“I‘m a diehard RCB fan, and I’m just wishing and praying that you come to RCB & Rock here.”- In a recent chat with the batter, one of the fans asked, to which the Karnataka-born replied- “Let’s Hope so.”
Since the captaincy pressure has come on his shoulder, the batting has declined a little for the 32-year-old. In 2023, he injured himself in the middle of the event and ended with 274 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of only 113.22 with just a couple of half-centuries. In 2022, it was decent but, with the change of aggression in T20s, the strike rate of 135.38, especially batting as an opener, wasn’t helping the team.
KL Rahul featured in three seasons for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with the last of them coming in 2016 when they finished as the runners-up of the season after accepting the defeat against Hyderabad.
For the ‘Play Bold’ franchise, the right-handed batter has smashed 417 runs in 14 innings at an average of 37.90 and a strike rate of 145.29 with the help of four half-centuries and a best score of unbeaten 68-run knock.
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The natural game of KL Rahul is about showing his attacking cricket, as he has gathered 2265 runs in 72 innings for India at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of around 140 with the help of 22 half-centuries and a couple of centuries with a best score of unbeaten 110-runs.
When he played the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the crowd was quite active when he came out to bat and kept on cheering for the veteran throughout his stay in the middle. That could be the indication of a re-bond between the player and the team.
