Table of Contents
KL Rahul has been a leader in making for a long time now. India’s star wicket-keeper batter remained in the shadows of prominent names both in the national team and in different Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises he has played for during the course of his career.
After a disappointing run at the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last time around, Rahul was bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) as a seasoned player who knows the IPL dynamics as well as anybody in the sport. The capitals signed him for a whopping INR 14 crores with widespread rumours that he would lead the side during the upcoming IPL season.
However, the 32-year-old has dropped a bombshell on the cricketing world by denying the captaincy and deciding to contribute for the Capitals as a player.
Here’s the captaincy record of KL Rahul:
1. A brief run as skipper of the Indian team:
Rahul was first appointed as the vice-captain of the Indian team in the T20I team after Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy role and Rohit Sharma took over as captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup. Later on, Rahul was also appointed as the vice-captain of the team in ODI format.
After Rohit was ruled out of the tour to South Africa due to injury, Rahul filled in as the skipper during the ODI series and led the team during the 2nd Test match thus becoming the 34th Test captain of India. Interestingly, Rahul scored a half-century on his captaincy debut in the longest format of the game. His time as the captain of the team did not turn out to be successful since India lost both ODI and Test during the tour.
Rahul’s second major run as the captain of the team came during India’s tour to South Africa after the 2023 ODI World Cup. This time Rahul won the 3-match ODI series 2-1 and became the first Indian captain to win a series in South Africa after Kohli.
Also Read: Mother-to-be Athiya Shetty showers love on KL Rahul after India’s thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final
2. Leader of the Punjab Kings
Rahul’s IPL career began with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) before going to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the 2014 season. Rahul returned to RCB before the 2016 season and had to miss out due to a shoulder injury.
In the 2018 IPL auction, Rahul was bought by Punjab Kings for INR 11 crore, making him the joint-third highest-priced player. In the season’s opening match, he set a new record for the fastest 50 in IPL history, reaching the milestone in just 14 balls and surpassing Sunil Narine‘s previous record. Over the course of the season, Rahul scored 659 runs at an impressive strike rate of 158.41 and an average of 54.91, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer.
KXIP retained Rahul for the 2019 season, where he was appointed vice-captain. That year, he achieved a significant milestone, scoring his maiden IPL century—an unbeaten 100 off 64 balls against Mumbai Indians (MI). He finished the season with 593 runs, averaging 53.90 and boasting a strike rate of 135.38.
On December 19, 2019, Rahul was named the captain for the 2020 season following the trade of Ravichandran Ashwin to Capitals. In a match against RCB on September 24, 2020, he scored a remarkable 132 not out the highest score by an Indian batter in an IPL match at the time. Rahul went on to win the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs in the season, amassing 670 runs, and was also named the Dream11 Gamechanger of the Season.
He was retained as captain for the 2021 season and continued to shine with the bat, scoring 626 runs, making him the team’s highest run-scorer that year.
3. A short tenure as captain of Lucknow Super Giants
Ahead of the 2022 IPL season, Rahul was drafted by LSG as their captain for INR 17 crore, making him the joint-highest paid cricketer in the IPL alongside Kohli.
On April 16, 2022, Rahul marked his first century for Lucknow with an unbeaten 103 off 60 balls against Mumbai. He followed it up with another scintillating century against the same opponent just eight days later. Rahul led LSG to the playoffs in their debut season but they were eliminated by RCB in the eliminator. He finished as the team’s highest run-scorer, amassing 616 runs at an average of 51.33, which included two centuries.
Retained as captain for the 2023 season, Rahul’s campaign was cut short after he sustained an injury while fielding in a match against RCB, ruling him out midway through the tournament.
In the 2024 season, Rahul scored 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.13, including four half-centuries, but was unable to lead his team to the playoffs. His leadership came under scrutiny after a humiliating 10-wicket loss to in match 57, where SRH chased down a target of 166 runs in just 9.4 overs. The performance led to public criticism from the LSG owner. Following the disappointing season, he was released by LSG before the mega auction.
