Who is Kl Rahul

KL Rahul is a right-handed open batsman who keeps wickets in the shorter format of the game, Rahul also plays in the middle order in ODI series, he is suitable as a wicket keeper during the multi-man format. Cricket experts and media often criticized him for his inconsistency in running.

Biography of KL Rahul

The Karnataka-born cricketer was immediately in the limelight after his impressive performances of 185 from 233 at first base and 130 from 152 at second base against Central Zone in the 2014-15 Duleep Trophy.

The right-hander made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. KL Rahul becomes a national sensation after scoring his maiden Test century in his second Test appearance.

He is the first Indian to score a century on his One Day International debut, and the third Indian to score a century in all three forms of international cricket.

KL Rahul Domestic Carrer

KL Rahul became famous when he showed outstanding performance in the U19 World Cup of 2010. India suffered a poor spell, however, KL Rahul played some great games for his country. He finished second in runs in the team, scoring 143 runs over six innings at 28.60.

He made his first-class debut for Karnataka in the 2010–11 Ranji Trophy season. He played only three games and scored 105 points with a bad average of 21. He missed the next season but made a spectacular comeback in the 2012-13 season. He collected 400 carries in five games and averaged 50.

His performance earned him a contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore. KL Rahul created a stir in the Ranji season of 2013-14. He finished second in runs in the tournament, scoring 1,033 runs in 10 matches at an average of 68.86. He hit 3 centuries and 4 half centuries.

He went on to score a plethora of things on the domestic circuit, tracking him to an average of over 90. He scored 838 runs in just five matches, including two centuries and three half-centuries.

International Carrer

A brilliant performance in domestic cricket for a few years meant that KL Rahul was called up to the Indian Test squad for the tour of Australia in 2014. He made his debut on Boxing Day in the third Test in Melbourne. He performed well in his first Test, going just 3 and 1 in the first and second overs respectively. In the next Test, KL Rahul showed his class as he hit his first century at the Sydney cricket ground against one of the bowling teams.

He scored 110 off 262 balls. KL Rahul was included in the Indian ODI and T20 squad for the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016. He scored a century on his debut in Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. With this, he became the first Indian boxer to do so. On the same tour, he also made his T20 debut. He was selected in the Indian team for the four-test tour against the West Indies in 2016. Rahul played in the second test in Jamaica and scored 158, his highest score at that time. In the process, he became the first Indian fly-half to score a century in his first Test in the West Indies.

In the first match of the T20I series in the United States, he scored a century in 46 balls for a loss, the second fastest by an Indian. He set the world record for being the only player to score a hundred in the first innings as an opener in Tests and ODIs.

Lokesh Rahul is the second Indian batsman after Suresh Raina to score a hundred in all three formats and the oldest batsman to do so.

World Cup 2019: KL Rahul’s World Cup 2019 is low. He scored 361 runs in 9 matches, including a hundred against Sri Lanka. Chasing 264 against Sri Lanka, KL Rahul forged a stunning partnership of 189 with Rohit Sharma to help his side clinch victory. He scored 111 runs off 118 balls, including 11 fours and one six.

Golden moment: KL Rahul has a brilliant streak after the 2019 World Cup. In the 2019 home series against West Indies, KL Rahul had stellar numbers.

He amassed 185 runs in three ODIs at an average of 61.67, including a century in the second ODI. He averaged 54.67 in the T20 series, scoring 164 runs in 3 matches.

KL Rahul had his best overseas spell in the India New Zealand 2020 tour. He ended the tournament as the second best run-scorer in the ODI series and the best run-scorer in the T-20 series. KL Rahul scored 204 in 3 ODIs with an average of 102. He collected 224 runs in 5 T20Is, scoring at an average and strike rate of 54 and 144.52 respectively.

IPL Carrer

KL Rahul has played for four IPL teams since his debut in the 2013 IPL season. He started his journey with Royal Challengers Bangalore with just five matches before joining Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014. He appeared in the Orange shirt for a total of 20 matches in two seasons before returning to RCB in IPL 2016.

Rahul was part of the RCB team that reached the 2016 IPL Finals but lost out to his former team SRH in the marquee clash. Rahul missed the 2017 IPL after injuring his shoulder during the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) bought Rahul at a mega price for INR 11 crore. After his long IPL stint with PBKS, Rahul became Lucknow Super Giants’ first signing of 2022.

Rahul is one of the most explosive batsmen in the IPL who has managed to enter the list of top 10 scorers of all time. Rahul won the Orange Cap in 2020. In IPL 2022, Rahul became the first Indian player to break the 500-run mark for five consecutive seasons. Rahul holds the record for the highest run scorer by an Indian – 132* against RCB in 2020 – in the tournament’s history.