India’s wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has opened up concerning the challenges of main Indian Premier League (IPL) groups and why he finally stepped away from captaincy roles at each Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) and Lucknow Tremendous Giants. Rahul, who has captained 64 IPL matches throughout two franchises, admitted that main within the IPL drained him greater than captaining India.
Rahul’s fallout at Lucknow Tremendous Giants grew to become public after his on-field disagreement with staff proprietor Sanjiv Goenka in IPL 2024. Following that incident, he determined to enter the mega public sale and was later signed by Delhi Capitals. Earlier than the retention listing was finalised, rumors instructed that Rahul may be part of Kolkata Knight Riders and take over the management position, however these speculations proved false. In a dialog with presenter Jatin Sapru, Rahul defined why franchise captaincy took a toll on him.
Rahul mentioned, “What I discovered exhausting as a captain within the IPL was the variety of conferences that you just wanted to do, the variety of critiques that you just wanted to do, and the variety of issues that you just wanted to elucidate on the possession stage. All of that’s actually like power draining. So I spotted on the finish of IPL that I’m extra mentally and bodily drained than after taking part in 10 months of worldwide cricket.”
He additional defined the fixed questions and scrutiny he confronted. Rahul added, “There are such a lot of issues. Coaches, captains, you are simply consistently being requested loads of questions, and after some extent, it nearly feels such as you’re being questioned as to why did you made this alteration. Why did Jatin play within the XI? Why is it that the opposition bought 200 and we could not even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting extra spin?”
Rahul On Working With DC
Rahul additionally highlighted the distinction between working with individuals who perceive the game and those that don’t. He mentioned, “I imply, these are questions that we by no means get requested via the yr, proper? As a result of the coaches who’re there know what is going on on. You are solely answerable to the coach and the selectors who’ve all performed cricket and perceive the nuances of cricket and sport. It doesn’t matter what you do and what number of containers you tick, there’s nothing in sport that ensures victory. So that is the exhausting half to elucidate to individuals who come from a non-sporting background.”
Rahul finds his rhythm at Delhi Capitals
After becoming a member of Delhi Capitals, Rahul rediscovered his T20 fluency. Batting throughout a number of positions, he delivered constantly and justified his worth to the franchise. In 13 innings, Rahul scored 539 runs at a formidable common of 53.90. His tally included a century and three fifties, whereas his strike charge of 149.72 was his highest in any IPL season since 2018.
Following the retention announcement, DC head coach Hemang Badani confirmed that there had by no means been any doubt about retaining Rahul and praised him for adapting to varied roles inside the staff.