Lokesh Rahul, in full Kannur Lokesh Rahul (born on 18 April 1992 in Mangalore, Karnataka) is a right-hand Indian batter. Rahul has been a crucial member of the national side for a couple of years, especially in white-ball cricket. His ability to score fast and keep wickets in time of crisis makes him the most highly rated batter for India. He is often seen as the future captain of Indian cricket who can also be a good wicketkeeping option for the side. After captaining Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League for a couple of years, Rahul was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants as a captain for the franchise ahead of the mega auction of TATA IPL 2022.
KL Rahul Early Life and Education
Rahul is born and brought up in Mangalore, Karnataka. He started cricket training at the age of 10. Few years later, he started playing matches for Bangalore United Cricket Club in Mangalore. He completed his high school at NITK English School. After seeing his talent, his father who is a professor in NIT decided to let him pursue his career in cricket. At the age of 18, Rahul shifted to Bangalore to study at Jain University and for professional training in cricket.
KL Rahul International Debut
KL Rahul Test Debut – 26 December 2014 against Australia
KL Rahul ODI Debut – 11 June 2016 against Zimbabwe
KL Rahul T20I Debut – 18 June 2016 against Zimbabwe
KL Rahul Career
KL Rahul Domestic Career
In 2010, Lokesh Rahul made his first-class debut at the age of 19 for Karnataka. In the same year, he was picked up by the selectors for the Under 19 Cricket World Cup. He scored 143 runs in the tournament.
2013-14 was the breakthrough season for Rahul, he ended up the first-class season as the second-highest run-scorer. He scored 1033 runs in that season.
In the next season i.e. 2013-15 in the Duleep Trophy final, Rahul scored 185 and 130 runs in both innings in a match for South Zone against Central Zone. A Few days later he was called up to the national side for the test series on the tour of Australia.
Later in the same 2014-15 season, Rahul scored 337 runs in an innings, hitting his maiden first-class triple century against Uttar Pradesh. He scored 188 runs in the finals of the Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu. At the end of the season, his average was 93.11 in 9 matches.
KL Rahul International Career
KL Rahul Test career
Following some magnificent performances in the domestic circuit, Rahul got called up on the tour of Australia. He made his international debut in the Boxing day Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground In 2014. He received his test cap from MS Dhoni. He only scored 3 runs in the first innings and 1 run in the second innings. Despite poor runs in the match, he was selected in the next match at Sydney where he scored his maiden test century.
He got selected in the squad for the Bangladesh tour but missed it due to dengue. After getting fit, he returned to the side in a series against Sri Lanka in 2015 scoring his second test century in the first match of the series. He also did wicketkeeping in the same match.
In 2016, on the tour of the West Indies, he scored another century and became the first Indian opener to hit a century in his debut test in the country.
After that due to the high competition for the opening slot in the Indian team and some average performances, he remained in and out of the team.
He was selected in the Test squad in 2020 against Australia but got injured during the training. He missed the entire season due to the injury.
In December 2021, he was named vice-captain of the Indian Test team in a series against South Africa. In the second test, he captained the national side for the first time becoming the 34th Test Captain of India.
KL Rahul ODI Career
Rahul made his ODI debut in 2016 against Zimbabwe. He scored a century on his debut becoming the first Indian cricketer to achieve the feat. He was also rewarded with Man of the series.
Since his debut, he maintained his place in the ODI squad. He was selected for World Cup 2019 where he scored a century against Sri Lanka.
In 2021, Rahul was appointed as the Vice-captain of the Indian team for the limited-overs format. Later in the same year, he was appointed as the captain for the series against South Africa.
KL Rahul T20I Career
Rahul made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in 2016. On his debut, he scored his maiden T20I century.
In 2018, he scored his 2nd T20I century against England.
On the tour of New Zealand in 2020, Lokesh Rahul was declared man of the series in the T20I series. He scored 224 runs in 5 matches.
In 2021, he was appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team for T20Is.
KL Rahul IPL Career
KL Rahul was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013 as a wicketkeeper batter for the side.
In 2014, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for 1 crore but he failed to impress much in the next 2 seasons.
Rahul returned to RCB in 2016 and scored 397 runs in 14 matches. He missed the next season due to injury.
2018 was the breakthrough year for KL Rahul’s IPL career. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in the auction for a whopping amount of 11 crores. In the very first match of the season, he scored a half-century in just 14 balls which is still a record for the fastest fifty in IPL. He scored 659 runs in the season.
In 2019, Rahul maintained his consistency and scored 593 runs in 14 matches.
Ahead of the 2020 season, he was named captain of the franchise. He ended the season by winning the orange cap for scoring the most runs in the season. He scored 670 runs in 14 matches. In 2021, he scored 626 runs in 14 matches.
Ahead of the mega auction in 2022, Rahul left the franchise and was picked up by Lucknow Supergiants for 17 crores. He is the highest-paid cricketer in the history of IPL.
KL Rahul Stats
In Tests, KL Rahul has played 43 matches and scored 2547 runs with 7 centuries and 13 half-centuries.
In ODIs, Rahul has played 42 matches and scored 1634 runs with 5 centuries and 10 half-centuries.
In T20Is, Rahul has played 56 matches and scored 1831 runs with 2 centuries and 16 half-centuries.
In IPL, Rahul has played 97 matches and scored 3381 runs with 2 centuries and 28 half-centuries.
KL Rahul Records
· First batter to score a triple century for Karnataka in Ranji Trophy.
· Fastest batter to score a century in all 3 formats in terms of innings (20).
· Fastest half-century (14 balls) in IPL.
· Highest paid cricketer in IPL (17 crores).
KL Rahul Awards
· Orange Cap in IPL 2020 for most runs.
· Cricketer of the Year in 2018 by Wisden India Almanack.
KL Rahul Family
Rahul was born in Mangalore. His father KN Lokesh is a professor and former director at NIT Karnataka. His mother Rajeshwari is a history professor. He has a younger sister named Bhavna. Actress Athiya Shetty is KL Rahul’s girlfriend who can be seen with the cricketer on most of his tours.
Personal Information
KL Rahul Full Name: Kannur Lokesh Rahul
KL Rahul Height: 180 cm
KL Rahul Birthplace: Mangalore, Karnataka
KL Rahul Date of Birth: 18 April 1992
KL Rahul Age: 29 years
KL Rahul Nationality: Indian
KL Rahul Religion: Hinduism
KL Rahul School: NITK English Medium School
KL Rahul College: Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College
KL Rahul Marital Status: Unmarried
KL Rahul Favorite Cricketer: Rahul Dravid
KL Rahul Jersey Number: 1
KL Rahul Batting style: Right-hand bat
KL Rahul Favorite Shot: On-drive
KL Rahul Hobbies: Tattooing, Tennis
KL Rahul Tattoos: Right back, Right Shoulder, Left Arm
KL Rahul Networth: $10 Million
FAQs
- Who is KL Rahul’s wife?
KL Rahul is Unmarried. Actress Athiya Shetty is KL Rahul’s girlfriend who can be seen with the cricketer on most of his tours.
2. When did KL Rahul make his debut for India?
KL Rahul made his international debut in the Boxing day Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground In 2014 against Australia.
3. What is the salary of KL Rahul in IPL?
Rahul was bought by the Lucknow franchise for 17 crores ahead of TATA IPL 2022.
4. Is KL Rahul captain of the Indian Cricket Team?
No. In 2021, Rahul was appointed as the Vice-captain of the Indian team for limited overs format.
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