KL Rahul has finished the IPL. Next is Test cricket, which includes five Test matches in England. Before the next T20 World Cup, which will take place in India and Sri Lanka in February and March of next year, there will be a lot more. KL Rahul still aspires to be a member of that team because “the World Cup is in my mind.” He hasn’t participated in a Twenty20 International since November 2022.
During the 2025 Indian Premier League, KL Rahul stated, “Yes, I want to get back in the T20 team and the World Cup is in my mind, but for now it’s just trying to enjoy how I’m playing right now,” in an interview with Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports. Rahul finished as the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) top scorer with 539 runs in 13 innings with a strike rate of 149.72, although his side was eliminated from the playoffs some time ago. He is now finished with the IPL.
KL Rahul has a history of scoring a lot of runs in the IPL; he won the Orange Cap in 2020 after scoring 520 in 2024, 616 in 2022, 626 in 2021, and 670 in 2021. His strike rate has been a problem; he hasn’t reached 140 in several seasons, which has caused him to lose his spot in the India T20I squad.
KL Rahul, who has previously faced criticism for stating that “strike rate is very, very overrated,” stated, “I obviously had some time to think about my white-ball game and white-ball cricket; I was quite happy with my performances and where I was.” “But [there] was a time probably 15 months ago or 12 months ago where I realised that the game is slightly getting ahead or it’s changing and becoming much more faster, and I said this in an interview as well, that it’s become more about the team that hits more boundaries is winning the games more often than the team that’s, I can’t say playing smarter, but the team that doesn’t hit as many boundaries is always finding themselves on the losing side.”
KL Rahul was not in the starting lineup for India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory.
“I haven’t played for the T20 team in a few years, and that’s where white-ball cricket is going. I’ve had some time to consider my T20 game as a result,” Rahul remarked. Overall, I’m just sitting here thinking about how I can improve, where the game has gone, what I need to do to catch up, how I can perform and get back into the T20 team, and how I can become a key member of my team in both ODI and T20 white-ball cricket.
“After giving these things some thought, I’ve come up with certain ideas that are clearly aided by the coaches I’ve worked with. Abhishek Nayar is one of the men I’ve worked with a lot over the past 12 months. I spent a lot of time with him, who helped me improve my game and modify the way I thought. He joined the Indian squad as a batting coach but has since been fired.
KL Rahul and Kevin Pietersen, the DC mentor, were seen joking around in a video that was uploaded on the IPL website in early April. Pietersen once said, “Watching KL is like sitting and watching the paint dry on the wall.” Rahul was playing a quote from Pietersen in the video.
Pietersen questioned, “Did I say that?” KL Rahul answered, “Yeah.” Never one to back down, Pietersen concluded by saying, “Well, I’m glad you changed your game.”
For the record, KL Rahul IPL 2025 strike rate of 149.72 represents a significant increase over his five previous seasons’ rates of 136.12, 113.22, 135.38, 138.80, and 129.34.
“I think it’s good to have a little bit of banter, and yeah, I mean, these were times when I still used to read and see stuff that was said about me,” Rahul added to Hussain. “There is undoubtedly a drive if someone tells me that I am incapable of doing something or that I am the most uninteresting person to watch in T20 cricket or powerplay. I mean, I have a little more left in me when I play the following game.
“After spending a few weeks with KP at the IPL, you know that they don’t mean any damage to you; they’re just expressing what he felt and what he saw on TV. Thus, nothing more exists. Since I began to view things that way, it has been simple for me: if a commentator or another cricket player says something, it’s obviously what he has witnessed and feels, so I believe it’s a little easier if you don’t take it personally.”
India
