Why did KL Rahul leave LSG?
One of India’s premium batters, KL Rahul has left the Lucknow Super Giants franchise and is set to be a part of IPL mega auction. So let’s take look at Why did KL Rahul leave LSG.
Rahul was appointed as Lucknow Super Giants captain in 2022 and led the franchise in all three seasons since then, two out of three times LSG reached the playoffs, while they missed the chance of entering the top 4 in IPL 2024.
The most recent season was a rollercoaster for both the franchise and captain Rahul, as despite playing decent cricket, LSG failed to qualify for playoffs, while after hitting 520 runs in 14 innings at a strike-rate of 136.13, Rahul was criticized for his low strike-rate.
However, as per a report by TOI (Time of India), LSG was ready to offer a top retention spot to KL Rahul, but he decided to move on due to personal and professional reasons.
Despite Rahul not being in India’s T20I scheme of things, many franchises reportedly interested in acquiring his services for IPL 2025 including RCB and CSK.
KL Rahul’s performance in IPL
KL Rahul is one of the best batters in modern-day cricket with sound technique and the ability to change the course of the game with his power hitting.
His records, especially when playing for Punjab Kings (his former franchise in IPL), were extraordinary. Having scored 659 in 2018, 593 in 2019 and 670 in 2020 and 616 in 2021 editions of Indian Premier League, while maintaining an average in the range of 51 to 62 in those four editions.
Even after coming to LSG, Rahul performed well during his first session with the new franchise in 2022, where he hit 616 runs at a strike-rate of 135.38.
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Rahul’s performance in IPL faced some dip during the 2023 edition when he scored 274 in nine innings at a strike-rate of only 113.2.
| Year | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50 | 100 | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 14 | 520 | 82 | 37.14 | 136.13 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| 2023 | 9 | 274 | 74 | 34.25 | 113.22 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2022 | 15 | 616 | 103* | 51.33 | 135.38 | 4 | 2 | 30 |
| 2021 | 13 | 626 | 98* | 62.60 | 138.80 | 6 | 0 | 30 |
| 2020 | 14 | 670 | 132* | 55.83 | 129.34 | 5 | 1 | 23 |
| 2019 | 14 | 593 | 100* | 53.90 | 135.38 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
| 2018 | 14 | 659 | 95* | 54.91 | 158.41 | 6 | 0 | 32 |
| 2016 | 14 | 397 | 68* | 44.11 | 146.49 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 2015 | 9 | 142 | 44* | 28.40 | 112.69 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2014 | 11 | 166 | 46 | 20.75 | 101.21 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 10.00 | 125.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |