Former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul is one of the few Indian captaincy candidates available for franchises to pick from in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Rahul led LSG to playoffs in two out of three editions. In IPL 2024, they missed the playoffs spot on the basis of net run rate (NRR). However, in the next edition, it is not captaincy Rahul is after but a few intangible things which will help get the best out of him.
In a recent interview with Star Sports, Rahul was asked whether captaincy is important to him. Even though he welcomes the idea of leadership role in another franchise, it is not a dealbreaker for him.
"I would never go and ask someone for it," he said. "If you feel that my leadership skills are good enough, and you find something good in the way I play my cricket and in the way I handle myself, the way that I handle the team that I've captained in the last four to five years, and if you find it worthy, then of course I'm happy to do it.
"But it's not something that is a make or break for me. I just want to be part of a team that has a good environment. You feel loved, cared for and respected in that environment and everyone on that franchise has one single goal to win the idea. there then that's a perfect fit."
Rahul picks two IPL franchises with calm dressing room
Rahul also responded to the social media buzz about his homecoming to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He is excited by the idea to play half of the matches at his homeground. However, he named two franchises whose dressing room environment he likes. He also tried to create a similar environment at LSG.
"The pressure is already there in the IPL, it's so high. You see teams like Gujarat [Titans] and CSK [Chennai Super Kings] and all of these teams, and you see when they win or lose, they seem really balanced and the dressing room is really calm. That's something that's very important for me as a player. I feel like if that happens, it gives all the players the best chance to perform," said the 32-year-old.
"We tried that at LSG with Andy Flower [head coach] and GG [Gautam Gambhir, mentor] first and then last year with [new head coach, Justin] Langer, we tried to create that in the change room. I think it was a brilliant atmosphere in the change room. I think sometimes you just need to move away and find something good for yourself."
Rahul has opted for a base price of Rs 2 crore. He is expected to be one of the big buys in the mega auction.
