Former captain of the Lucknow Super Giants – KL Rahul – explained the reason behind leaving the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League mega-auction. KL Rahul, who captained the team for the last 3 seasons was not retained by the side ahead of the 2025 season of the tournament.
In an interview with Star Sports ahead of the IPL mega auction, set to be held on November 24 and 25. KL Rahul said that he left the team because he needed freedom to play his game.
KL Rahul’s stellar international T20I and IPL career
Right-handed batter KL Rahul said the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will give him the platform to enjoy his cricket and eventually make a comeback into the India T20I team. After the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup, KL Rahul hasn’t played for India in the shortest format.
Rahul has so far played 72 T20Is for India since his debut in 2016, amassing 2,265 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.12, including two centuries and 22 fifties. KL Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants from the IPL 2022 to 2024 seasons, with the team entering playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Rahul did not have a good time as a batter or as a captain last season. 2024 was the first time that Lucknow did not reach the playoffs in 3 years, and the team also looked outdated in terms of modern T20 game.
Rahul made 1410 runs, making him the team’s leading run-getter in three seasons, before not being retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 season. During the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction, to be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Rahul will be seeking a new team for himself to resurrect his fortunes in T20s.
KL Rahul explains reason behind LSG exit ahead of 2025 auction
Former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul opened up on the reason behind leaving the franchise ahead of the 2025 IPL auction. The 32-year-old said the time was right for him to make a fresh start and play with more freedom in his next destination.
LSG decided to retain five players – Nicholas Pooran (₹21 crores), Ravi Bishnoi (₹11 crores), Mayank Yadav (₹11 crores), Mohsin Khan (₹4 crores), and Ayush Badoni (₹4 crores) for the next three-year cycle.
In a video shared by Star Sports on their X handle, KL Rahul broke the silence about his parting ways with LSG. He said as quoted by India Today:
“I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom, where the team atmosphere could be something lighter. Sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself.”
KL Rahul was LSG’s skipper for their first three IPL seasons from 2022 to 2024, leading the side to the playoffs in the first two seasons. However, they missed the playoffs last season, finishing seventh on the points table with seven wins in 14 games.
KL Rahul aims to make comeback to Indian T20I side
KL Rahul said he aimed to ultimately get back to the Indian T20I side through his IPL performances in the upcoming season.
The stylish batter last played a T20I game for India in the 2022 World Cup in Australia, where the side suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket loss to England in the semi-final.
“I have been out of the T20 team for a while and I know where I stand as a player and I know what I need to do to get back, so I’ll look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform where I can go back and enjoy my cricket and my aim is to obviously get back into the Indian T20 team,” said Rahul.
KL Rahul enjoyed an incredible maiden season with LSG in 2022, scoring 616 runs at an average of over 51 and a strike rate of 135.38. However, he has averaged under 40 in the last two seasons despite scoring almost 800 runs in 23 combined matches. KL Rahul boasts an excellent overall T20I record with 2,265 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.12 in 72 games.
KL Rahul will be next seen in action when India play the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener against Australia on November 22 in Perth. With captain Rohit Sharma, not a certainty to play the game in Perth, KL Rahul is in contention to open the batting alongside Yashaswi Jaiswal, with uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran being the other opening option.