KL Rahul breaks silence on LSG exit in IPL, says, ‘I wanted to go…’

Right-handed batter K.L. 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, 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. Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants from the IPL 2022 to 2024 seasons, with the team entering playoffs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

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.

"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 in a promo video posted by Star Sports on their 'X' account.

He also talked about why he entered the mega auction pool. "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."

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,

Rahul is in contention to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, with uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran being the other opening option.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from IANS) 

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