Ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League season, the Kolkata Knight Riders are hoping to bolster their roster with the addition of KL Rahul, a famous cricketer for India. KL Rahul’s arrival follows the team’s departure of coaching staff members Bharat Arun and Chandrakant Pandit. It is still unclear if he will be brought in as a specialised hitter or as captain.
If the rumours are true, KL Rahul will be playing for his sixth IPL squad. The Karnataka batsman began his career with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the lucrative tournament. His best years were spent in the league with Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) and Punjab Kings.
Notably, KL Rahul IPL 2024 campaign did not go as expected because the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) club missed out on the playoffs for the first time. Fans and experts came together to criticise KL Rahul sluggish strike-rates and slow knocks in stressful circumstances as the cause behind their defeat. At this point, the team let him go, and the Delhi Capitals selected him to play as a specialist hitter.
Rahul and DC both benefited greatly from the transfer, as the batter finished as the team’s top run scorer and the team nearly advanced to the tournament’s final rounds. The Mangalore native scored 539 runs from 13 games at an incredible average of 53.90, and the strike-rate reached a respectable 150, despite being a late addition to the playing XI. KL Rahul has been in incredible form ever since, and he has carried that success into the Test format as well.
KL Rahul outstanding performance in England
In the current Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, he is India’s second-highest run scorer. The explosive batter has started as the Indian team’s opener in the four matches against England thus far, scoring two outstanding hundreds and a few half-centuries. In eight innings, he has amassed 511 runs at an average of 63.87. Given that the fifth and final Test of the series is currently taking place at London’s Kennington Oval, he would undoubtedly want to finish his tour of the United Kingdom on a high note.
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