KL Rahul

KL Rahul IPL factfile

- KL Rahul has played for four IPL teams since he made his debut in 2013. His first season was for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after which he was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2014 and 2015. He rejoined RCB in 2016, missed IPL 2017 because of injury, and then represented Punjab Kings (PBKS, previously known as Kings XI Punjab or KXIP) from 2018 to 2021. Rahul moved to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2022.

- A versatile batter who started in the middle order before moving to the top, Rahul also keeps wicket in the IPL, and has emerged as one of the league's most consistent run-scorers, with more than 590 runs in each season from 2018 to 2022.

- In IPL 2018, Rahul smashed a fifty off 14 balls against Delhi Daredevils, which was the record for the fastest half-century in the IPL at the time.

- In IPL 2020, Rahul won the Orange Cap for the most runs in the season: 670.

- Rahul was named captain of Punjab Kings in IPL 2020 - his first captaincy stint in the IPL - and he led them for two years before moving to LSG, where he was appointed captain once again. Under Rahul's leadership, LSG qualified for the playoffs in their first two IPL seasons, though Rahul played only nine matches in IPL 2023 because of a thigh injury.

- With four centuries, ahead of IPL 2024 Rahul is second only to Virat Kohli among Indian batters with the most hundreds in the Indian Premier League.

KL Rahul player profile

A tall, elegant right-hand batter who can keep wicket in a crisis, KL Rahul is among the most highly rated opening batters in India's next generation. Rahul was a part of India's squad in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup and made his first-class debut later that year. Having taken a while to establish himself as a first-class cricketer, he enjoyed a breakthrough 2013-14 season, laying the foundation for Karnataka's Ranji Trophy victory with 1033 runs, which included three centuries, three nineties, and a Man-of-the-Match performance in the final.

Rahul attracted plenty of attention at the subsequent IPL auction, and finally went to Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 1 crore (US$ 166,000 approx.). He was a regular member of their side in the 2014 season, mostly as wicketkeeper-batter, but his contributions with the bat were steady rather than spectacular.

In the long format, however, his technique and application have impressed some of Indian cricket's most respected names. These include Rahul Dravid, with whom Rahul shares not just a name but also a strong rapport, regularly seeking him out for technical and mental advice.

Rahul had a middling tour of Australia with the India A team in July-August 2014, getting starts each time he batted in the unofficial Tests but only managing a top score of 52. But his appetite for runs was back to normal by the time the 2014-15 domestic season began, and twin centuries in the Duleep Trophy final earned him a place in India's Test squad on their tour of Australia.

A profitable IPL in 2016 set him up to make the Indian ODI and T20 squad that toured Zimbabwe in June, where he became the first batter from his country to score a century on debut in 50-over cricket.
Karthik Krishnaswamy