Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul may be leading a new team in IPL 2024, but his past with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) holds a special place in his heart. During a recent chat with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Ashwin's YouTube channel, Rahul, who turned 32 on April 18, reminisced about his time at RCB, including a previously untold story about former skipper Virat Kohli's reaction when he first signed with the Bangalore franchise.
Back in 2013, a 20-year-old Rahul's dream of playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) became a reality. He secured a deal with the Bengaluru franchise, then led by Virat Kohli, before the 2013 season. Interestingly, his journey with RCB spanned two stints.
"Virat was there (ITC Gardenia), coach Ray Jennings and other support staff were also there and Virat only said, 'Would you want to sign this contract and play for RCB?' I was like, 'Are you kidding? It was always my dream.' And then he said 'I'm just kidding. It's not an option, just sign this contract.' I signed and Virat said 'It's gonna be a crazy ride. You're going to enjoy a lot in the next couple of months," Rahul said during a conversation with Ashwin.
While joining RCB in 2013 was a dream come true for the young Rahul, his time with the team was brief. Despite a breakout performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that year, his IPL debut season yielded only 20 runs. RCB and Rahul went their separate ways after that season, with Rahul moving to Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2014 edition. He did manage to find more success there, scoring 166 runs, and that same year, he even made his Test debut for India.
"The things that I learned (at RCB) in those two months, I mean the amount of time it would have taken me to be the player by playing just Ranji Trophy would have probably taken it 7-8 seasons. Those two months in the IPL, I gained so much knowledge and experience and everything was fast-forwarded," Rahul further added.
After his brief stint at RCB, Rahul's IPL career took off. He returned to the Bangalore franchise in 2016, scoring 397 runs in 14 matches. In 2018, he was acquired by the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) for a staggering INR 11 crore, where he truly blossomed as a batsman, even clinching the coveted Orange Cap in the 2020 season. Finally, in 2022, he took on a leadership role as captain of the newly formed Lucknow Super Giants franchise.
Despite leading a new team, Rahul confessed a fondness for RCB, expressing a desire to potentially have ended his IPL career there.
"I would have also loved to play for Bangalore. I had started there, I would have liked to finish there and that was there in my head. But the beauty of IPL is that you get to go into different teams with different players," he concluded.
LSG skipper Rahul is gearing up for their next showdown against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 19. So far LSG have played six matches and have won three of them to sit fifth in the IPL 2024's points table.
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