KL Rahul

KL Rahul is an Indian cricketer who represents Indian national cricket team at international level and Karnataka cricket team in domestic circuit. He also leads Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Born to a professor and the former director at the National Institute of Technology, Rahul developed a keen interest in cricket from an early age. His parents spotted his desire and arranged for formal training to help him achieve his potential. At 18, he moved to Bangalore to pursue his cricket career from Mangalore which is his birth place.

Rahul started playing first-class cricket for Karnataka in the 2010-11 season. In 2010, he represented India in the ICC Under 19 World Cup. He started his IPL career in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bangalore. His domestic performance got him a call up for the national Test team in 2014 and ODI team in 2016.

KL Rahul: Along the Years 

KL Rahul Records 

• KL Rahul became the first batsman from Karnataka to score a triple century in the Ranji Trophy.

• He became the first Indian player to score an ODI century on debut against Zimbabwe in June 2016. A few months later Rahul recorded the then joint second-fastest T20I century in 46 balls.

• It was the fastest century scored by an Indian batter at that point only for Rohit Sharma to overhaul it later.

• Rahul is the only Indian player to score fifties in seven consecutive Test innings.

• In 2017, Rahul became the fastest batsman to have scored centuries in all the three formats in international cricket. He achieved this feat in just 20 innings. Rahul also once held the record of scoring the fastest ever half-century in IPL off just 14 balls. He is also the only batsman to reach 100 with a six in all formats.

• KL Rahul holds the record for Fastest Century in the World Cup by an Indian in the history of ICC World Cup

• First T20I century: Rahul is the first batsman to score a century in a T20I while batting at fourth position or lower.

• In T20Is, he became the first Indian batsman to be dismissed with a hit-wicket.

KL Rahul Awards and Accolades 

• KL Rahul was awarded the Cricketer of the Year award in the sixth edition of Wisden India Almanack in 2018.

• KL Rahul scored 129 in the 2021 England against India LV Insurance Test, making his name in the Lords Honours Boards. After Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul became the second Indian to earn a place into the prestigious Lord's Honours Boards at the home of cricket.

KL Rahul Career 

KL Rahul is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who plays for the Indian National Cricket team and Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket for Lucknow Super Giants. He is the third batsman from India to score a century in each of the three international cricket forms.

On December 26, 2014, Rahul made his Test debut at Melbourne Cricket Ground against Australia. He debuted for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL). For the 2020 Indian Premier League season, he was named captain of the Kings XI Punjab. KL Rahul is the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants IPL squad as of 2024. Rahul has recorded 17 international centuries as of January 2024: 8 in Test cricket, 7 in One-Day Internationals, and 2 in T20 Internationals. 

KL Rahul Domestic Career 

KL Rahul’s debut in first-class cricket came in the 2010-11 season. The same year he was selected to represent India in the U19 World Cup. He was dropped from the domestic team for the 2012-13 season but made a big comeback in the following season and scored 1,033 first-class runs, the second-highest of that season. In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy, he played nine matches and scored with an average of more than 93. He also became Karnataka’s first triple-centurion as he scored 337 against Uttar Pradesh.

Also see - Jasprit Bumrah Biography

KL Rahul IPL Career 

KL Rahul has played for four IPL teams since making his debut in the IPL 2013 season. He started his journey with Royal Challengers Bangalore and played just five games before moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014. He appeared in the Orange jersey for a total of 20 games across two seasons before returning back to RCB in IPL 2016.

Rahul was part of RCB’s team that reached the final of IPL 2016 but lost to his former team SRH in the marquee clash. Rahul missed the 2017 IPL after sustaining a shoulder injury in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Rahul was purchased by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the mega auction for INR 11 crore. After spending his longest period in IPL with PBKS, Rahul became the initial signing of Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.

Rahul is one of the explosive openers in IPL who manages to enter the top 10 scorer's list each season. Rahul won the Orange Cap in 2020. In IPL 2022, Rahul became the first Indian player to breach the 500-run mark for five straight seasons. Rahul holds the record of highest individual score by an Indian batter - 132* vs RCB in 2020 - in the tournament’s history. 

In 2022, KL Rahul and Quinton De Kock recorded the 2nd highest partnership in the history of the IPL with an unbeaten 210 in 20 overs. De Kock scored that season’s highest individual score with 140 runs off 70 and KL Rahul scored 68. It was the first time in the IPL where a team played with no wickets in the entire innings of 20 overs. Rahul is second only to Virat Kohli among Indian batsmen with the most hundreds in the Indian Premier League, having scored four centuries ahead of the 2024 edition of the IPL.

KL Rahul International Career 

KL Rahul has 17 hundreds in total as of January 2024 in international cricket, with 8 coming from Test matches, 7 from One-Day Internationals, and 2 from T20I matches. He is the first batsman to score a century in T20I batting at number four or below, and the only player from India to score a century on his ODI debut.

KL Rahul ODI Career 

Rahul made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2016 and scored a century on debut, becoming the first Indian batsman to do so. Rahul was part of India's 2019 World Cup and was promoted to open the innings after Shikhar Dhawan was injured. Rahul scored his second ODI century which was his first World Cup ton against Sri Lanka.

Post the 2019 World Cup, Rahul was played as a wicketkeeper and slotted in to bat at No.4. He slammed a 112 against New Zealand in the third ODI. But the ton went in vain as India lost the series 0-3. Although Rahul might be a regular opener in the shortest format of the game, he is still considered a middle-order batter in Tests and ODIs.

In the 2023 ICC World Cup, KL Rahul was chosen as the wicket-keeper batsman for India midway by replacing Ishan Kishan. Rahul showed his prime form in the World Cup with 15 catches behind the stump and a single stumping. He scored 452 runs while batting at the middle-order. He recorded the fastest century by an Indian in the history of ICC World Cup tournaments against Netherlands just off 62 balls. 

KL Rahul Test Career 

Following his good performance in the domestic circuit, he was selected to the Indian squad for the tour to Australia in 2014. He made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test match against Australia in Melbourne.

Rahul couldn't manage a double digit score in either of his innings on debut but scored his first international century in the next Test in Sydney. Rahul scored 158 against West Indies in 2016 made him the first Indian opener to score a Test century in first innings in West Indies. Rahul also became the second Indian batter after Mohammad Azharuddin to convert his first three fifties into hundreds.

KL Rahul T20I Career 

KL Rahul made his T20I debut in the tour of Zimbabwe in 2016. The same year, he scored an unbeaten 110 off 46 balls in a T20I match against West Indies. This was the fastest by an Indian at that point and also the first by a No.4 position batsman in T20Is. Rahul opened the innings with Rohit Sharma in the 2021 T20 World Cup and Asia Cup 2022. Rahul has scored 22 fifties and a couple of hundreds.

KL Rahul Captaincy 

As of 2023, in 13 matches as the Indian captain, the wicketkeeper batsman has led the team to 9 victories and 4 defeats. KL has led the team in a total of three test matches. He has two victories and one defeat. The right-hand batsman has six wins and three losses in nine ODIs as the captain. He led the Indian team to victory in his solitary T20I as the captain. Rahul has led two IPL teams as captain. In 2021, he was elected captain of the Punjab Kings for the first time. In 2022, he was signed to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as the captain. He has led his team to victory in 25 of his 51 IPL games as captain, with 24 losses and two draws.

KL Rahul Under-19 Career 

Indian cricketer Kannur Lokesh Rahul, also known as KL Rahul, made his first-class debut for Karnataka in 2010–11. He also played for India in the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he scored 143 runs. Rahul played in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup for India, and he later made his first-class debut in the same year.

KL Rahul Family 

Rahul’s father, K.N Lokesh is a professor and former director at the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka and his mother, Rajeshwari, is a History professor at Mangalore University. Rahul has an elder sister named Bhavna.

Rahul has been in a close relationship with actress Athiya Shetty, the daughter of prominent actor Suniel Shetty. The pair is open about their love in public as they keep posting pictures of them on social media. KL Rahul and Athiya Shetty got married on 23rd January 2023.

KL Rahul Net Worth 

KL Rahul, one of the most prominent players of this decade, is projected to have a net worth of INR 101 crores, as of 2024. The BCCI and IPL contracts, match fees, and endorsement deals from a wide range of brands are the sources of income for the Karnataka cricketer. 

KL Rahul earns an approximate yearly income of INR 20-22 crores for his services to the Indian squad and the IPL in all formats. KL Rahul is listed in the 'A' category on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's yearly contract retainer list as of February 2024 (BCCI). Rahul thereby receives INR 5 Crores a year for his contributions to Indian cricket. He was retained by LSG for 17 crores in the 2024 IPL auction.

KL Rahul House 

KL Rahul lives in his lavish apartment in Bengaluru. KL Rahul also owns a lavish four-bedroom flat with a sea view at Carter Road in Mumbai. He resides here with his wife Athiya Shetty.

KL Rahul Cars 

KL Rahul owns a stunning collection of cars. He has an Aston Martin DB11, a Range Rover Velar, a Mercedes C43, an Audi R8, a BMW 5 series, and a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder.