KL Rahul, an Indian cricketer, who is a part of the India the national cricket team at the international level as well as the Karnataka cricket team in the domestic circuit. He is also the captain of Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The son of a Professor who was the former director of the National Institute of Technology, Rahul was awed in cricket from a young age. His parents noticed his passion and organized formal coaching to help him realize his goals. When he was 18, he moved into Bangalore to pursue a cricket career.
Rahul began playing cricket in the first class for Karnataka in the season 2010-11. In the same year, he also represented India during the ICC Under 19 World Cup. He began with his IPL professional career back in the year 2013 playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. His performance in the domestic league earned him a spot in the national team in 2014. Two years later, he was a member of the ODI team.
Table of Contents
Personal Information
| Name | Kannanur Lokesh Rahul |
| Born | April 18 in 1992. |
| Age | 30 Years |
| Current Teams | Punjab Kings Indian Cricket Team Lucknow Super Giants |
| Nationality | India |
| Height | 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) |
| Family | KN Lokesh (Father),Rajeshwari (Mother), Bhavana (Sister) |
| Role | Batsman/Right hand Batsman |
| Birth Place | Bengaluru |
| Batting Style | Right Hand Bat |
| Bowling Style | – |
Batting Stats
| Game Type | Mat | Inn | R | BF | NO | Avg | S/R | 100s | 50s | H | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | 51 | 49 | 1870 | 2141 | 7 | 44.52 | 87.34 | 5 | 12 | 112 | 142 | 44 | 29 | 2 |
| TESTs | 47 | 81 | 2642 | 5116 | 2 | 33.44 | 51.64 | 7 | 13 | 199 | 318 | 18 | 54 | 0 |
| T20Is | 72 | 68 | 2265 | 1628 | 8 | 37.75 | 139.12 | 2 | 22 | 110 | 191 | 99 | 23 | 1 |
| T20s | 203 | 190 | 6792 | 4960 | 31 | 42.71 | 136.93 | 6 | 59 | 132 | 570 | 288 | 93 | 8 |
| LISTAs | 103 | 100 | 3873 | 4829 | 12 | 44.01 | 80.20 | 9 | 25 | 131 | 310 | 75 | 66 | 6 |
| FIRSTCLASS | 90 | 150 | 6501 | 11947 | 5 | 44.83 | 54.41 | 17 | 31 | 337 | 817 | 50 | 92 |
KL Rahul: Through the years
| Year | Age | Achievement |
| 2010 | 18 | First-class cricket debut |
| 2010 | 18 | Participated in the 2010. ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup |
| 2013 | 21 | IPL debut |
| 2014 | 22 | Test debut |
| 2016 | 24 | ODI debut and a century on debut |
| 2016 | 24 | The fastest player to score centuries across the three formats of international cricket |
| 2018 | 26 | He scored the fastest fifty in the IPL |
| 2019 | 27 | Selected for 50 over World Cup |
| 2019 | 27 | The first time a player has scored a World Cup century |
| 2020 | 28 | Was made Captain of the Punjab Kings in IPL |
| 2020 | 28 | Recorded the highest individual score in the IPL for an Indian |
| 2021 | 29 | Participated in the 2021 World Cup for India for 2021 in the T20 World Cup |
| 2021 | 29 | His name was on Lord’s Honours Board |
| 2022 | 30 | He was made Captain of the Lucknow Super Giants |
KL Rahul: Records
KL Rahul was the very first player from Karnataka to make a triple century at the Ranji Trophy.
He was the very first Indian player to record an ODI century in his debut with Zimbabwe in June of 2016. Then, a few months later Rahul was credited with the second-fastest T20I century with 46 balls.
It was the most rapid century recorded by an Indian batter in that time and it took Rohit Sharma to surpass it later.
Rahul has been the sole Indian player to have scored a fifty-fifty during seven Test matches in a row.
In the year 2017, Rahul became the fastest batsman to score centuries in all three formats used in international cricket. He did this in only 20 innings. Rahul has also set the mark for having the fastest ever half-century in the IPL. Rahul is also the only player to hit 100 with a 6-hit in every format.
KL Rahul Accolades and Awards
KL Rahul was given an award for the best cricketer Award in the sixth edition of the Wisden India Almanack in 2018.
Career
Domestic Career
KL Rahul’s first appearance in first-class cricket was during the season 2010-11. In the same year, Rahul was picked as a representative for India at the U19 World Cup. The team was cut from India’s national team in 2012-13 but he returned to the team in the subsequent season. He had 1,033 first-class runs. This was the second highest of the season. In 2014-15’s Ranji Trophy, he played nine games and scored an average of over 93. Karnataka also became the first triple-centurion, scoring 337 in the match against Uttar Pradesh.
IPL Career
KL Rahul has been a part of the following IPL squads since his first appearance during the IPL 2013 season. He began his career playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore and played just five games before making the move into Sunrisers Hyderabad in the year 2014. He wore the Orange jersey for twenty games over two seasons, before returning with RCB in IPL 2016.
Rahul was a member of RCB’s team who made it to the final of the IPL 2016. However, they lost to their former club SRH at the Marquee match. Rahul did not participate in the 2017 IPL due to an injury to his shoulder in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Rahul was acquired in the auction by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in the auction that was a mega deal at INR 11.35 crore. After his longest time playing in IPL playing for PBKS, Rahul became the first signing for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022.
Rahul is among the most explosive openers in the IPL who is able to make it into the top 10 scoring list every season. Rahul took home his first Orange Cap in 2020. The following year, in IPL 2022 Rahul made history as the only Indian player to break the 500-run mark in five consecutive seasons. Rahul is the holder of record for the highest individual score scored by an Indian batter of 132* against RCB in 2020. the history of the tournament.
International Career
ODI Career
Rahul made his debut in ODI against Zimbabwe in 2016 , and scored a century in his debut and became his first Indian batsman to score a century. Rahul played in India’s 2019 World Cup and was named the opener following the injury of Shikhar Dhawan was injured. Rahul made his second and the first World Cup ODI century against Sri Lanka.
After this year’s World Cup, Rahul was employed as a wicketkeeper and then batted at No.4. Rahul scored a 111 in the third ODI against New Zealand in the third ODI. But his effort went without a hit as India fell 3-0 in the series. While Rahul may be an everyday opener in T20Is and Tests but he’s still thought to be a middle order batsman in ODIs.
Test Career
In the wake of his impressive performance on local competition, he received picked to be part of the Indian team in the group tour of Australia in 2014. He made his debut as a Test player in Australia in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia in Melbourne.
Rahul was unable to achieve a double-digit score in any of his debut innings but he did score his first century for the international circuit in the following Test in Sydney. Rahul recorded 158 runs against West Indies in 2016 made him the first Indian opener to achieve a century in a Test match in his the first innings of West Indies.
Rahul was also his second Indian batter, following Mohammad Azharuddin to transform his first three fiveties into hundreds.
T20I Career
KL Rahul played his T20I debut during his tour to Zimbabwe in the year 2016. In the that same year, Rahul hit unbeaten 110 off just 46 balls in the T20I game in the West Indies. West Indies. It was the fastest score by an Indian at that time, and the first time by an Indian No.4 position player in T20Is.
Rahul started the match alongside Rohit Sharma at the 2021 T20 World Cup and Asia Cup 2022. Rahul has been able to score 20 fifties, as well as some hundreds.
KL Rahul: Family
Rahul’s father K.N Lokesh is a professor and director in the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka and his mother, Rajeshwari, is a History professor at Mangalore University. Rahul has one younger sister, known as Bhavna.
Rahul is in long-term connection and Indian actress Athiya Shetty, daughter of famous actor Suniel Shetty. The two are open about their relationship in public , constantly posting photos of the two via social media. KL Rahul, and Athiya Shetty were married on January 23rd, 2023.