New Delhi: Team India star KL Rahul has dropped a colossal hint about joining Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 amid speculations over his future with his current team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). There have been reports that Rahul is set to be sacked from captaincy and might not get retained by the franchise.
Concerns about Rahul’s future started after LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had a public outburst on the franchise skipper following a 10-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024 earlier this year. There were reports that Rahul didn’t want to continue with LSG while the franchise was also not keen on retaining him.
However, Goenka labelled Rahul as ‘family’ during a press conference last month where former India pacer Zaheer Khan was unveiled as the new mentor of the franchise. Earlier, Rahul had also held a meeting with Goenka at his office in Kolkata. Despite insisting that he is an integral member of LSG, Goenka refused to comment when asked if Rahul will continue leading LSG in IPL 2025.
There have been reports that RCB are looking to rope in Rahul ahead of the new season as they hunt for a new captain after Faf du Plessis. The franchise is unlikely to retain Du Plessis and might be open to a return for Rahul, who started his IPL career with RCB in 2013 and was also part of the team when they made it to the final in IPL 2016.
Amid links with RCB, an RCB fan recently caught up with Rahul and urged him to join the franchise ahead of the new season. The fan told Rahul that he is a die-hard RCB fan and he would love to see the right-hander return to the team. Rahul’s priceless response went viral as the batter optimistically replied – “let’s hope so.”
I’m happy that KL Rahul knows about the rumours that are going around for him & RCB.
Please boss change your IPL team! 🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/Os06Uj39gQ
— Kunal Yadav (@Kunal_KLR) September 14, 2024
Can KL Rahul be traded to RCB ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction?
Rahul cannot be traded to RCB from LSG ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction this year even if both parties are interested. The trading window which opens only before a mini-auction, will not be active ahead of the mega auction which is scheduled to take place later this year. Rahul will have to be released by LSG and enter the auction if he wants to leave the franchise.
RCB will have to beat other teams in the bidding war for the India batter in order to secure his services at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Rahul has so far played 132 matches in his IPL career and has 4,683 runs at an average of over 45 and a strike rate of 134.61, including 37 fifties and 4 centuries.
Is KL Rahul on his way to RCB ahead of IPL 2025? The star batter’s reaction to a RCB fan’s request has gone viral on social media. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
