Right-handed batsman K.L. Rahul described the Indian Premier League 2025 as a stage that will let him enjoy playing cricket and eventually return to the India T20I team. Rahul last played for India in the shortest format at the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup.
Rahul has played 72 T20Is for India so far, scoring 2,265 runs at a strike rate of 139.12 with a mean of 37.75. He has two centuries and 22 fifties to his name. He has led Lucknow Super Giants in IPL from 2022 to 2024. The team featuring him has been a playoff contender for the years 2022 and 2023.
Rahul was 1,410 runs and the team's top run-getter for three seasons when he was not retained by the franchise ahead of the 2025 season. With the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction slated for November 24 and 25 to be held in Jeddah, he will seek a new team from where he can rise to resurrect his fortune 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 obviously to get back into the Indian T20 team," said Rahul in a promo video posted by Star Sports on their 'X' account.
The player also elaborated on why he wanted to get into 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 back in action when India face Australia in the first game of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series on 22nd November at Perth. Rohit Sharma's non-readiness to play in Perth has opened up the window for Rahul to open the innings along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the other contender is uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran.
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