KL Rahul failed to cement his place in the T20 World Cup squad as the Lucknow Super Giants skipper was overlooked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for the ICC event. Leading the Super Giants after his India snub for matchday 53 of the Indian Premier League 2024, Rahul recorded a forgetful outing against Shreyas Iyer's Kolkata Knight Riders at home. Hosts LSG were outplayed by KKR as Rahul and Co. scripted an embarrassing record in the IPL 2024.
Reflecting on LSG's painful loss to KKR in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league, legendary Australian pacer Brett Lee questioned the batting intent of Lucknow skipper Rahul. Tasked to chase down a gigantic total of 235 against the mighty Knight Riders, LSG needed a rollicking start from openers Rahul and Arshin Kulkarni. While Kulkarni departed for 9 off 7 balls, Rahul perished for 25 off 21 balls.
'There's a lot of pressure on KL Rahul'
"I think if you look at both opening batters from both sides, it's a complete contrast. KKR have got it right. They're out of the blocks quickly, they're scoring runs. And then you got KL Rahul on the other side, that's, you know, getting a run a ball and putting a lot of pressure on the back end. You know, we saw four games and I picked KL Rahul here, the first four games he played. His strike rate was 129, then he went to 150 and now he's come back and said, 'well, yeah, you know the bowlers have done a great job. I think there's a lot of pressure on him because he hasn't scored the runs he should be," Lee told Jio Cinema.
KKR thrash LSG to go on top
{{/usCountry}}"I think if you look at both opening batters from both sides, it's a complete contrast. KKR have got it right. They're out of the blocks quickly, they're scoring runs. And then you got KL Rahul on the other side, that's, you know, getting a run a ball and putting a lot of pressure on the back end. You know, we saw four games and I picked KL Rahul here, the first four games he played. His strike rate was 129, then he went to 150 and now he's come back and said, 'well, yeah, you know the bowlers have done a great job. I think there's a lot of pressure on him because he hasn't scored the runs he should be," Lee told Jio Cinema.
KKR thrash LSG to go on top
{{/usCountry}}Rahul scored three boundaries and batted at a strike rate of 119 against the KKR bowlers. After Rahul's exit, Marcus Stoinis scored 36 off 21 balls as LSG surrendered for 137 in 16.1 overs. Star bowlers Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy shared six wickets to set up KKR's 98-run win over LSG at Lucknow. With the win over Rahul's men, KKR have replaced Rajasthan Royals at the top of the IPL 2024 standings.
How Rahul has performed in IPL 2024
Rahul was upstaged by Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper's spots in the Indian T20 World Cup squad. Pant and Samson scored runs with a better strike rate than Rahul when India picked its squad for the ICC event. Rahul has scored 431 runs in 11 games at the IPL 2024. Rahul achieved a strike rate of 141.31 in 11 games this season.