In one of the most bizarre moves or decisions we have seen in the IPL, Lucknow Super Giants‘ designated captain KL Rahul played and batted against the Punjab Kings, but he wasn’t the captain. Instead, it was West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran who led LSG against Shikhar Dhawan’s side on Saturday evening in Lucknow.
Everyone was left surprised when Nicholas Pooran walked out for toss at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, and not KL Rahul, who led LSG in their opening match of the season a few days ago in Jaipur against RR.
Why is KL Rahul not captaining LSG against Punjab?
What was even more baffling was that Pooran said at the toss that Rahul would bat but not field and instead walk out of the match as the Impact Substitute. This was simply shocking for everyone.
Pooran mentioned at the toss that KL Rahul is coming back from an injury – a quad injury that had forced him to miss the last four Tests against England – and that’s why they want to rest him when they can, meaning he would not field and only bat and can be replaced by an Impact substitute as Pooran elected to bat first.
Pooran said, “KL is coming back from injury and we’re looking to give him a break in such a long tournament, but he’ll play as an impact player today.”
This left everyone bemused. Because against Rajasthan, KL Rahul opened and also did wicket-keeping duties in a day game – which is more taxing on a player considering the heat in India in March. Rahul wants to showcase himself as a wicket-keeping option for the Indian T20I team in the T20 World Cup. However, since he was coming from a quad injury, it didn’t seem wise to do keeping in a day game, more so when he had de Kock and Pooran in the team.
It all made up for a talking point among the fans.
Fans left confused as KL Rahul doesn’t captain LSG against PBKS:
Also Read: “Tough Night..” – Virat Kohli Opens Up On RCB’s 2nd Loss In Three IPL 2024 Games
