KL Rahul, the right-handed opening batsman, will lead Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 13th edition of the IPL, scheduled to be played in March-April next year.
Rahul is set to become the fifth Indian and overall 12th player to lead KXIP in the IPL.
Punjab’s previous skipper, Ravichandran Ashwin, was traded to Delhi Capital last month.
“We are happy to appoint Rahul as our captain for the upcoming season. He has been through a lot in the last year or so and has now come back strongly. He has silenced his critics. You will get to see his ability not just as a batsman but also as a captain. He was our unanimous choice,” KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia told PTI during the IPL 2020 auction on Thursday.
With six wins and eight losses, KXIP finished sixth on the points table and only had Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) below them.
King XI Punjab is among the three sides who are yet to win the magnificent IPL trophy, the other two being Delhi and Bangalore.
Rahul had terrific IPL seasons before he was roped in by KXIP for the 2018 IPL season at a whopping INR 11 crore. Rahul went on to score 659 and 593 runs in 2018 and 2019 respectively and was among the top-scorers for KXIP.
Meanwhile, Punjab got back one of their former captains, Glenn Maxwell in the squad on Thursday. Maxwell earlier played for KXIP, who seemed keen on having him back as they triumphed in his bidding war. KXIP secured the star Australian all-rounder for INR 10.75 crore.
