KL Rahul Biography | Career Path | Records | Controversies

KL Rahul Biography: The Karnataka-born cricketer comes under the spotlight right after his impressive knock of 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 in the second innings against Central Zone in the 2014–15 Duleep Trophy.

The right-handed batsman made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. KL Rahul becomes a national sensation after he scored his maiden Test century in his second Test appearance.

He was the first Indian to score a century on One Day International debut, and the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of international cricket.

KL Rahul Biography – Overview

KL Rahul Biography – Family

• KL Rahul was born on 18 April 1992 to KN Lokesh and Rajeshwari in Bangalore.
• His father Lokesh is a professor and former director at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in Mangalore.
• His mother Rajeshwari is a professor at Mangalore University.
• Lokesh, who was a fan of the cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, wanted to name his son after Gavaskar’s but mistook Rohan Gavaskar’s name as Rahul.
• Rahul grew up in Mangalore, completing his high school at NITK English Medium School and pre-university at St. Aloysius College.
• He started cricket training at the age of 10, and, two years later, started playing matches for both Bangalore United Cricket Club and his club in Mangalore.
• At age 18 he moved to Bangalore to study at Jain University and pursue his cricket career.

KL Rahul Domestic Career

• KL Rahul started his rigorous practice for cricket and started playing under 14 and under 16 for the Karnataka team.
• Rahul made his first-class cricket debut for Karnataka in the 2010–11 season.
• During the 2013–14 domestic season he scored 1,033 first-class runs, the second-highest scorer that season.
• In the 2014–15 Duleep Trophy, playing for South Zone in the final against Central Zone, Rahul scored 185 off 233 balls in the first innings and 130 off 152 in the second where Central Zone won the tournament by 9 runs.

• He was named the player of the match and selected to the Indian Test squad for the Australian tour followed.
• Returning home after the Test series, Rahul became Karnataka’s first triple-centurion, scoring 337 against Uttar Pradesh.
• He went on to score 188 in the 2014–15 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu and finished the season with an average of 93.11 in the nine matches he played.

KL Rahul International Career

KL Rahul Test Career

• KL Rahul made his Test debut in the 2014 Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
  • • He replaced Rohit Sharma and was presented with his Test cap by MS Dhoni. He batted at number six and made three runs in the first innings
    • In the second innings, he played at number 3 and made only 1 run but retained his place for the next Test at Sydney where he opened the innings with Murali Vijay and made 110 runs, his maiden international hundred.

• He was part of the 15-man squad for the Indian tour of Bangladesh in June 2015 but withdrew due to Dengue fever.
• He returned to the side for the first Test of the Sri Lankan tour after Murali Vijay was ruled out due to injury.
  • • He scored his second Test century and winning the Man of the Match award.
    • During the match, he kept the wickets after Wriddhiman Saha was injured.
• He was picked in the Indian squad for the four-test tour against West Indies in 2016.
  • • Rahul played in the second Test at Jamaica and scored 158, his highest Test score then.
    • In the process, he became the first Indian opener to score a century in his debut Test in the West Indies.
• Rahul was included in the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020 but was not picked in the playing XI for the first two Tests. He injured himself during practice and was ruled out of the remaining part of the tour.
• Following his injury, he also missed the home Test series against England in February 2021.
• Rahul was named in India’s Test squad for their tour of England in 2021.  As Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal were injured, KL Rahul returned to Test cricket and opened alongside fellow teammate Rohit Sharma.
  • • In the 1st Test at Nottingham, Rahul scored 84 and 26.
    • He went on to score a ton i.e 129(250) at Lords and was awarded as the man of the match in the 2nd test.
    • Rahul scored 315 runs in 8 innings of 4 matches played and was the second-highest run-scorer for India in the tour with Rohit Sharma being the highest run-scorer for the team.
• In December 2021, Rahul was named as India’s Test vice-captain for the away series against South Africa after India’s regular vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series.
  • • In the 1st Test match against South Africa in December 2021, he scored 123 in India’s 1st innings and 23 in India’s 2nd innings.
    • For this match-winning performance, he was awarded the Man of the Match award.
    • In the 2nd Test against South Africa in January 2022, Rahul captained India for the first time in Test cricket and became the 34th Test captain of India.
    • He scored a half-century on his captaincy debut. Despite his best efforts, Rahul couldn’t lead the team to victory and India lost the 2nd Test by 7 wickets.
• He was part of the Test squad which played in India’s South Africa tour 2023-24.
  • He smashed his 8th Test century during the first test played between December 26 and 30 in the first innings. But despite his impressive efforts, South Africa won the match by an innings and 32 runs.
  • KL Rahul scored 8 runs in the first innings of the match played on January 03 where India won the match by 7 wickets.
• KL Rahul was part of the Test squad playing in England’s India tour.
  • He smashed 86 and 22 runs in the first innings of the first test match of the test series played on January 25. But India lost the match by 28 runs difference.

KL Rahul ODI Career

• He was named in the squad to tour Zimbabwe in 2016 and made his One Day International (ODI) debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club and scored unbeaten 100*(115) on debut.
• Thus, he became the first Indian cricketer to score a century on his ODI debut.
• He was adjudged the man of the series on his debut ODI series.
• In January 2020, Rahul made 80(52) batting at no.5 in the 2nd ODI against Australia and was rewarded as the man of the match.
• In the India tour of New Zealand 2020, in the ODI series against New Zealand, he scored 88*(64) in the 1st ODI and scored his 4th ton in ODIs, 112(113) in the 3rd ODI.
• In October 2020, Rahul was named as India’s vice-captain for the ODI and T20I series against Australia.
• KL was appointed as ODI’s vice-captain following his T20I vice-captain appointment due to a change of captaincy in the White ball format of the Indian team.
• In December 2021, in India’s tour of South Africa, KL Rahul was named as the ODI captain for the One Day series as India’s regular ODI captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury.
  • •  In 1st ODI against South Africa, he made his debut in ODI Captaincy and became the 26th ODI captain of India, however, India lost the series 3-0 to South Africa.

• In February 2022, in the home series against West Indies, KL Rahul opted out of the 1st ODI owing to personal reasons and joined the squad for the remaining 2 matches and a 3-match T20I series.
  • • In the second ODI, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav scored a much-needed partnership where KL Rahul lost his wicket for 49 runs while running between the wickets.
    • Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag warns KL Rahul and insists him to work on his running between wickets skill.
• He was part of the Asia Cup 2023, where India claimed victory in the league.
• He was named as the captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma during the first two ODIs for Australia’s India tour in 2023.
• He was announced as the captain of the 3-match ODI series against South Africa where Rohit Sharma took a break. India won the series 2-1 and he became the second captain in Indian Cricket after Virat Kohli to win an ODI series in South Africa.

KL Rahul T20I Career

• KL Rahul made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut on India’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2016.
•  In the first match of the T20I series in the United States, he scored an unbeaten century 110* off 51 balls in a losing cause, which was the second-fastest century(46 balls) ever and fastest by an Indian.
• On 3 July 2018, Rahul smashed his second T20 International ton against England.
• In December 2019, in the first T20I match against the West Indies, Rahul scored his 1,000th run in T20I cricket.
• In the India tour of New Zealand 2020, Rahul was declared man of the series in the 5 matches T20I series for scoring 224 runs at an average of 56.
• After Virat Kohli stepped down as Indian T20I captain, KL was appointed the Vice-captain of the Indian Cricket Team in T20I as former Vice-captain Rohit Sharma was appointed the new Captain of T20I format.
• On February 11, 2022, ahead of the West Indies T20I series KL Rahul was ruled out of the T20I series owing to an upper left hamstring strain.

KL Rahul World Cup Career

• In the 2010 U19 World Cup, KL Rahul represented India and scored a total of 143 runs in the competition.
• In April 2019, he was named in India’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
  • • He scored his maiden hundred for India in the World Cup against Sri Lanka.
• In September 2021, Rahul was named in India’s squad for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
  • • He was the 11th Highest Run Scorer in the whole tournament, scoring 194 runs which included 3 consecutive fifties.
    • He also scored the tournament’s joint-fastest fifty in just 18 balls, against Scotland.
• KL Rahul was named in the World Cup 2023 squad where India completed the campaign as runners. He played 10 matches in the tournament and amassed 386 runs which includes a century and a fifty.

KL Rahul IPL Career

• KL Rahul made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a wicket-keeper batsman during the 2013 competition – five years later the introduction of the tournament.
• Ahead of the 2014 IPL, he was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore, before returning to RCB ahead of the 2016 IPL season.
  • • He finished the season as the 11th-highest run-scorer, and RCB’s third, with 397 runs from 14 matches.
    • For his performances in the 2016 IPL season, he was named as wicketkeeper in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.
• KL Rahul missed the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury.
• In the 2018 IPL Auction, he was bought by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for INR 11 crore, the joint-third highest price.
  • • In the team’s first match of the season, he scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, taking 14 balls to reach the milestone and breaking the record of Sunil Narine.
    • For his performances in the 2018 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

• After making scores of 90+ three times during 2018, he reached his maiden IPL century in 2019, scoring 100 not out from 64 against Mumbai Indians.
  • • For his performances in the 2019 IPL season, he was named in the Cricinfo IPL XI.
• Rahul was named captain of the Kings XI Punjab for the 2020 IPL, after former captain Ravichandran Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals.
  • • In the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 24 September 2020, he scored an unbeaten 132 off just 69 balls.
    • With that century, he broke the record of the most runs scored by an Indian batsman in an IPL match.
    • He also broke the record of the most runs scored by a captain in an IPL match.
    • In the IPL 2020 season, he scored 670 runs in all the 14 matches he played. He scored 5 fifties and 1 hundred with the highest score of an unbeaten 132 against RCB and also had an average of 55.83.
    • Rahul won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020 for scoring the most runs in IPL 2020 (670 runs).
• He was retained by the Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 IPL season.
  • • KL scored 91(50) in their first fixture against Rajasthan Royals.
    • KL scored a match-winning knock of 60*(52) against Mumbai Indians and 91*(57) against Royal Challengers Bangalore and won Man of the Match in both games.
    • In the final league game of Punjab Kings, KL scored unbeaten 98*(42) against Chennai Super Kings, helping the team get the target in 13 overs to give them a slight chance to qualify, however, the team ended up at 6th position.
    • He scored 626 runs in IPL 2021, finishing as the team’s highest scorer in the season.
• Prior to the 2022 season, BCCI plans to host IPL 2022 mega auction after the inclusion of two new IPL teams namely Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.
  • • Rahul parted ways with the Punjab Kings and was drafted by Lucknow Super Giants as their captain for INR 17Cr making him the joint highest-paid cricketer in the Indian Premier League alongside Virat Kohli.
    • On April 16, 2022, in the MI vs LSG league match, KL Rahul scored his third IPL century and became the first player to score a hundred in the 100th game(player’s 100th game) in IPL history.
• He was ruled out of the IPL 2023 season after picking up an injury during the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
• He was retained by the Lucknow Super Giants for the IPL 2024.

KL Rahul Records

• KL Rahul became the first batsman from Karnataka to score a triple century in the Ranji Trophy.
• He also became the first Indian batsman to score a century on ODI debut in 2016.
• In 2016, he scored the fastest century in the T20 format match by an Indian. He scored the century off 46 balls in what was a losing cause.
• He is also the only batsman to score a hundred in the first innings as an opener in both ODIs and Tests.
• He is the first player in T20I history to score a century (110*) while batting at number 4 position or lower.
• KL Rahul is also the only batsman to reach 100 with a six in all formats.
• He is also the first Indian batsman to be dismissed hit-wicket in T20Is.
• KL Rahul set the world record for being the only player to score a hundred in the first innings as an opener in both Tests and ODIs.
• In 2017, Rahul became the fastest batsman to have scored centuries in all three formats in international cricket. KL Rahul achieved this feat in just 20 innings.
• In the team’s first match of the IPL 2018 season, KL Rahul scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, taking 14 balls to reach the milestone and breaking the record of Sunil Narine.
• In IPL 2021, KL Rahul scored 626 runs and finished as the team’s highest scorer of the season.
• Ahead of IPL 2022 Mega Auction, Lucknow Super Giants drafted KL Rahul for INR 17Cr making him the joint highest-paid cricketer in the Indian Premier League alongside Virat Kohli.
• On April 16, 2022, after scoring a century against Mumbai Indians, KL Rahul became the first player to score a hundred in the 100th game(player’s 100th game) in IPL history.

Watch KL Rahul’s Fastest IPL Half-century

KL Rahul Awards and Accolades

• For his performances in the 2016 IPL season, he was named as wicketkeeper in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI. KL Rahul scored 397 runs with a highest of 68*.
• In the 2018 IPL Auction, KL Rahul was bought by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for INR 11 crore, the joint-third highest price in the IPL Auction.
• KL Rahul was awarded the Cricketer of the Year award in the sixth edition of Wisden India Almanack in 2018.
• For his performances in the 2018 IPL season, KL Rahul was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI. In IPL 2018 KL Rahul scored 659 runs with an average of 54.91.
• Rahul won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020 for scoring the most runs in IPL 2020 (670 runs).

KL Rahul Controversies

• On 11 January 2019, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were suspended by the BCCI following controversial comments they made on the Indian talk show Koffee with Karan earlier in the month.
  • • They were both sent home ahead of the ODI series against Australia and the fixtures of India’s tour to New Zealand.
    • On 24 January 2019, after lifting the suspension on Pandya and Rahul, the BCCI announced that Rahul would rejoin the squad for India A matches.

KL Rahul Tattoos

• Right Back – His dog Simba’s face and his name written
• Right Shoulder – Unknown Tattoo
• Left Arm – Tribal Tattoo
• Right forearm – “Deshi Basara” means to rise up
• Left forearm – Lighthouse
• Left Biceps – Clock design, All-seeing eye
• Right abdomen, ribs – 284 in Roman numerals
• Wrists – Parents Name

KL Rahul’s Assert

• A house worth Rs. 65 lakhs in Mangalore
• A Mercedes AMG C43 SUV priced at Rs. 75 lakhs.
• A total of 4 cars are not disclosed but worth 2.5 crores.

Brands Endorsed by KL Rahul

The Indian cricketer has a number of brand endorsements including boAt, Zenovit, Cure.fit, Gully, Puma, Alpino health foods, BharatPe, and the Reserve Bank of India. Most recently, both Rahul and Athiya partnered together to promote NumiParis – an eyewear brand.

 

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KL Rahul’s Batting Stats