On May 8, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered their worst defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They posted a non-threatening target of 166 which was chased down by SRH in just 9.4 overs. KL Rahul struggled with the bat scoring 29 runs from 33 deliveries and looked clueless when Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head went after LSG bowlers. As the run chase was wrapped up within 45 minutes, LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka had an animated chat with Rahul which made rounds on social media and was condemned by many. With two games to go in their IPL 2024 campaign, it is learnt that Rahul is unlikely to get retained by the franchise.
"There is a five-day gap before the next game against DC. As of now, no decision has been taken but it is understood that if Rahul plans to just concentrate on his batting for the remaining two games, the management won't mind," an IPL source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Rahul misses T20 World Cup spot
Last month, Rahul who was one of the frontrunner for the second wicketkeeper-batter spot in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad failed to make the cut. In-form Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson was included in the 15-member squad for the mega event to be hosted in West Indies and the USA.
Rahul’s IPL numbers
Rahul’s numbers in the IPL are not bad. However, his intent in the powerplay overs to take the attack to the opposition has been questioned, especially considering the mammoth totals posted in this season.
The 32-year-old has scored 460 runs from 12 games at an average of 38.33 including three half-centuries. His strike rate is 136.09.
LSG alive in playoff race
Despite the SRH drubbing, LSG are not out of the playoff race mathematically or practically. They have six wins from 12 games and are placed sixth on the points table. Their net run rate is -0.769 which is significantly lower than Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals (DC) who have same number of points. After a long break, LSG would go up against DC on May 14. Their last league clash is against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 17.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
