KL Rahul, Kannur Lokesh Rahul, is regarded as one of the most handsome cricketers on the current Indian cricket team.
Early Life
He was born on 18 April 1992 and his hometown is Mangalore, Karnataka. He can open the innings, play in the middle, and can also keep the wickets for the team if required. Thus, KL Rahul is the man to go for whenever India seeks a gap to be filled by an experienced player.
The Karnataka player is a composed and humble guy who hails from a middle-class Mangalorean family in Karnataka and has a sister. Even after achieving the milestones and success in the Indian cricket team, the batter hasn’t forgotten his roots. The player has been so calm & composed on & off the field.
This can be referred to through his stint as a captain with Punjab Kings, where he lost uncountable close counter matches and yet never we saw anger or rage on his face for a poor performance by any player.
KL Rahul’s Cricket Journey
Rahul’s Early Days in Cricket
KL Rahul’s cricketing journey began way back in 2010 with India U-19 and a year later made his debut in the first class for his home state Karnataka. Although, KL Rahul was rated highly since his early days, yet he was not in the eyes of selectors for the Indian cricket team.
KL Rahul made an impact in Ranji Trophy as Karnataka won the 2013-14 season with the assistance of KL Rahul’s over 1000 runs in the season. This caught Sunrisers Hyderabad in him, who bought him for an agreed price of 1 crore. Nevertheless, no one remembers KL Rahul’s stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad since he didn’t have any impactful matches with them. However, he did get an opportunity for the Indian test team touring Australia where he scored a century to cement his spot on the Indian test side.
After not proving so worthy in the T20 format, Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to transfer KL Rahul to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Now, the sensational player proved his metal as he climbed the stairs of success without any stop.
Rahul’s Success as an Opener in RCB
KL Rahul started to open the innings for RCB under Virat Kohli. This decision overturned the fortunes of KL Rahul as the same decision did for Rohit Sharma in the 2013 Champions Trophy. KL Rahul’s class, technique and consistency emerged which made him a prominent force for RCB. This was the same year when RCB reached the finals of IPL but couldn’t lift the IPL trophy as Sunrisers Hyderabad defended the total against the quality batting side.
However, KL Rahul could break into the ODI squad after the IPL 2016, when he was included for the Indian side touring Zimbabwe. KL Rahul astonished everybody with skills after scoring a century on debut and announcing the emergence of a brawny player from Karnataka.
The success door didn’t have a stop in KL Rahul’s cricketing journey. The player went on to score the century against West Indies in the T20 format, thus making him one of those rare players to have a century to their name in every format of the game.
Well, everything was in favor of KL Rahul except he couldn’t seal an opening birth in the Indian cricket team due to the presence of Rohit Sharma & Shikhar Dhawan. But getting the opportunity whenever either of the wasn’t playing. However, KL Rahul was still part of team India.
Whenever India seeks an answer for a query like a wicket-keeper needed? Then KL Rahul can keep the wickets. No Opener? No Problem, KL Rahul would do it. Weak middle order? Kl Rahul would handle it. Due to his multiple responsibilities and name similarity, he was compared with Rahul Dravid.
Sold To Punjab Kings in 2018 & Led the Team.
Finally, KL Rahul saw a huge breakthrough as he was sold for 11 crores in IPL 2018 to Punjab Kings where he went on to lead the franchise. Kl Rahul’s orange cap in IPL 2022 proves that the player had an impressive tenure with Punjab Kings as a batter. Since, then KL Rahul has been the backbone of the Indian team along with Rohit & Kohli.
Even after being in & out of the team due to numerous reasons out of his control, the Karnataka boy never expressed disappointment in public and maintained his calm and composed behavior, which he hails from his hometown.
Presently, Rahul is the captain of Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 and eyeing to lift his maiden IPL trophy as a captain.
