KL Rahul

Hailing from a background of high academic standards, KL Rahul was born and brought up in the prestigious National Institute of Technology Karnataka, where his father is a professor in the department of Civil Engineering. He finished his schooling in NITK and grew to develop keen interest in cricket. Having started off with batting on the grass-less field of the college, Rahul's parents spotted a spark in him and decided that he must receive formal training in order to realize his talents.

Rahul rose through the ranks of Under-19 cricket and broke into the Karnataka first-class side and had a decent debut season in 2010-11. He was left out of the squad for the succeeding season, but he returned for the 2012-13 season, in which he had a prolific run of form, becoming the highest run-getter of the season, propelling himself into contention for the highest honour of them all – an India Test cap.

The prospect of a debut on a momentous occasion like the Boxing Day at the MCG against the world's chirpiest team seemed to throw Rahul off his game, as he crumbled under pressure and lost his wicket to two shots unbecoming (to say the least) of a Test player. With the series already lost, and in a manifestation of compassion for Rahul's nervous jitters, the selectors and the captain decided to give Rahul a go at his usual opening spot in the Sydney Test. He had a dramatic redemption in Sydney as he stroked his way to a patient century, proving that he belongs in the national side – to himself, more than anyone else.

This hundred gave Rahul some momentum, and he went on to make hundreds in Sri Lanka and West Indies on away tours, making the opening combination a dilemma for the Indian selectors. He showed his tendency to convert starts, making his first three fifty-plus scores count, and going on to score a hundred each time. However, he continued to have anxious starts and got the reputation of an 'all-or-nothing' player.

Rahul was selected in the limited-overs squads to Zimbabwe and West Indies in mid-2016. It was then that Rahul showed his versatility across formats, bursting forth with a hundred each on ODI and T20I debut, after a fine run in the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The young right-hander got a chance to play his first home Test, but a series of injuries and recurrences managed to keep him going in and out of the playing XI until the Chennai Test against England in late 2017 when he made a full recovery. He went on to make a heart-breaking 199 in Chennai; his current highest score in Test cricket.

With an ideal mentor in Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul shares more than his first name with the Indian legend; the dogged resistance, the compact, airtight technique, and the unimpeachable focus at the crease are all common factors between the two batting technicians. Rahul does need to work a tad more on his nerves, though, after his tame dismissal on 199 in Chennai further reinforced his image as a timorous player. However, with age on his side, Rahul can work on his nerves and with an all-conditions' technique to go with it, he is an exciting prospect for India's long and challenging overseas season and he would like to reinforce his spot as a long-term option for India as a premier Test opener.

In 2018, following a superb IPL, Rahul got a route back in the T20I side and he scored a superb century against England at Old Trafford. He was picked in the 2019 World Cup, where he initially played at number 4 but an injury to Shikhar Dhawan forced him to switch to opener. Rahul has been a consistent white ball performer for India, but his Test match form dipped. His inconsistency meant that he was chopped in and out the side, and slotted in occasionally as an opener and occasionally as a middle order batter, especially when he was picked as a wicketkeeper batter.

Rahul scored two quality hundreds away against England and South Africa, but failed to replicate that consistently and was often the first player slotted out of the Indian Test team while the entire batting unit suffered a dip in form.

Post 2022, KL Rahul was asked to drop down to number 5 in ODI cricket to accommodate Shubman Gill who started opening for India. The decision proved to work wonders as it unlocked a new level to KL Rahul’s cricket, as he revelled in the role of anchor and finisher for Indian cricket. In that phase, Rahul used to open for India in T20s, playing the 2021 and 2022 WC as opener, while playing in the middle order in ODIs.

Rahul was in fine form during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He rescued India after being 2 for 3 in their opening game against Australia, scoring an unbeaten 97. Rahul was superb with the gloves as well. He was India’s top scorer in the World Cup final as well, but unfortunately the result didn’t go India’s way. Post the World Cup, Rahul has suffered a couple of injuries and not been a consistent part of the team, as he has also suffered a dip in form. He however has continued to get the backing of skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir, and retained his place for the Test tour to Australia.

He was tasked to open for India once again in the first Test at Perth, due to the absence of Rohit Sharma. Rahul impressed one and all with a solid defensive technique as he scored a fifty to give India a solid start in the second innings.

IPL Through the Years
Rahul was picked by his home team of RCB as a 20-year-old rookie in 2013. He played five games that season but failed to really make an impact. Rahul was sent back into the auction and was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 2014. After two mediocre years for SRH, he was back with RCB for 2016 where he was the wicketkeeper-batter. Rahul scored 397 runs that season at an average of 44.11 and helped RCB reach the final.

Rahul missed the 2017 season due to an injury, and returned in the mega auction of 2018. He was picked for a massive 11 crores by Punjab Kings who gave him a free hand as opener. Rahul scored 659 runs at a strike rate of 158.41 that season, and also got the then fastest IPL fifty when he got there off just 14 balls. After two seasons at the franchise, Rahul was elevated to the role of captain. He was Punjab’s leading run scorer all throughout his tenure with the franchise, but he was criticised for having a slower strike rate in his later years. He also couldn’t help Punjab qualify for the playoffs in his years as captain.

In 2022, when the IPL became a 10-team tournament, he moved to Lucknow Super Giants where also he was the captain. Under Rahul’s captaincy, LSG made the playoffs in his first two seasons, but failed at the eliminator stage. In his third season, Lucknow finished 7th. Ahead of the mega auctions, he was released by LSG and Rahul will now be seen in the colours of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025.

Written by Rishi Roy