KL Rahul, the Indian cricketing superstar, is currently a part of Delhi Capitals (DC) set-up in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after joining them ahead of the 2025 season. Despite a tough finish to the campaign for DC which saw them miss out on the IPL 2025 playoffs spot by a point, KL Rahul had a stellar season with the bat, scoring runs freely with attacking intent, which wasn’t the case when he captained multiple franchises over the years in the cash-rich league.
Notably, KL Rahul was the captain of Punjab Kings (PBKS) for IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons before becoming a part of newly incorporated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter captained them to playoff spots in their first two seasons in the IPL before a tough 2024
campaign, finishing in seventh place following which he asked for his release from LSG due to pressure of the leadership role, having an animated discussion in the field with owner Sanjiv Goenka in the aftermath of a tough defeat.
The number of things that you needed to explain at the ownership level: KL Rahul reveals hard part about being IPL captain
He alluded to how tough captaincy can get in the IPL in detail during his latest interview with Jatin Sapru for the Humans of Bombay on YouTube. KL Rahul said, “What I found hard as a captain in the IPL was the number of meetings that you needed to do, the number of reviews that you needed to do, and the number of things that you needed to explain at the ownership level. All of that is really like energy draining. So I realised at the end of IPL that I am more mentally and physically drained than after playing 10 months of international cricket.”
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“There are so many things. Coaches, captains, you’re just constantly being asked a lot of questions, and after a point, it almost feels like you’re being questioned as to why did you made this change. Why did Jatin play in the XI? Why is it that the opposition got 200 and we couldn’t even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting more spin?,” the 33-year-old remarked, indirectly taking a dig at LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka a year after leaving his Lucknow-based IPL franchise.
Moreover, while KL Rahul has been retained by DC ahead of the IPL 2026, there are still rumours going around about him possibly set to be traded ahead of the auction in Abu Dhabi next month.
