Career Overview/ Highlight : KL Rahul IPL 2013 to 2024
One of the best modern-day batters and yet orthodox in his approach, KL Rahul made his IPL debut in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014, and during his two-year stay, Rahul managed 308 runs in 20 matches.
However, he moved to RCB in 2016 and had an excellent season with the bat. The part-time wicketkeeper would miss out on IPL action in 2017 due to an injury; however, he moved to the Punjab Kings for a whopping ₹11 crore in 2018.
He eventually became the captain of the Punjab franchise and breached the 600-plus mark on multiple occasions. Based on these performances, he was appointed the skipper for the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 season after refusing to sign a new contract at Punjab Kings. Rahul guided the Super Giants to a top-four finish in 2022 and 2023.
Abbreviations & AcronymsMat -> Matches, NO -> Not out, HS -> Highest score, Avg -> Average, SR -> Strike Rate, CT -> Catch out, ST -> Stump out
Achievements & Records
Orange Cap winner in the IPL 2020 season – 670 runs
Highest individual score by an Indian batter in IPL – 132* vs Royal Challengers Bangalore
Joint second fastest fifty in IPL – 14 balls vs Delhi Capitals
First Indian player to cross 500 runs in five consecutive IPL seasons – 659 runs (IPL 2018), 593 runs (IPL 2019), 670 runs (IPL 2020), 626 runs (IPL 2021), & 616 runs (IPL 2022)
Punjab Kings’ highest run-scorer in IPL – 2548 runs
Interesting KL Rahul Facts
KL Rahul’s maiden IPL half-century came in his fourth IPL season
After failing to guide Punjab Kings into playoffs in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, KL Rahul ensured a top-four finish for Lucknow Super Giants under his leadership in the IPL 2022 and 2023 editions
The unbeaten 210 partnership between KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock is the only instance of a double-century partnership for an opening wicket in the IPL