Although KL Rahul played only two seasons for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Bangalore cricketer got a lot of love and RCB fans continue to call him one of their own.
KL Rahul started his IPL journey in 2013 with RCB before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad for the next three seasons. He returned to RCB in 2016 and had a brilliant season – average of 44 and strike rate of 146 with 4 fifties – helping RCB reach the final. He missed the 2017 season for RCB due to injury and then was surprisingly not retained.
He played four seasons for the Punjab Kings before moving to the Lucknow Super Giants. In fact, of his four franchises, Rahul has played the least number of matches for RCB, but remains one of their fondly remembered players.
Recently, as Hardik Pandya made a trade back to the Mumbai Indians from Gujarat Titans, the RCB fans were hoping to get back Rahul from LSG in a trade.
Whether it happens or not in the future, Rahul expressed a special place in his heart for RCB and its fans.
In a recent interview with SG Cricket, KL Rahul said: “RCB gave me the opportunity to showcase my talent when I was young – I am also from Bangalore so I always dreamt of playing for RCB when IPL started – I was lucky that I got to play for them for a few years so RCB is very close to me.”
KL Rahul looks very relaxed and in a good mind space: Sanjay Manjrekar
KL Rahul is in line for India captaincy after Rohit Sharma. He recently became the second Indian captain, after Virat Kohli in 2018, to lead India to an ODI series win in South Africa. He has also led LSG to two consecutive playoffs in the IPL, though LSG failed to reach the final both times.
Sanjay Manjrekar is very impressed with Rahul as captain, and said his natural instincts are similar to MS Dhoni’s in terms of DRS decision as a wicketkeeper.
“These days, when you see KL Rahul on the ground, he looks very relaxed and in a good mind space. He captained as expected. He looks comfortable in the leadership role. He has led a lot in the IPL, in a Test match in South Africa and in one-day matches as well. You can expect Rahul not to make any big mistake. He is an expert in DRS. His instinct is equal to MS Dhoni,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
