On Thursday, KL Rahul, the captain of Lucknow Super Giants, celebrated his 32nd birthday. Rahul's cricket career took off when he was recruited by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the Indian Premier League in 2013. He debuted for the Virat Kohli-led team against Kolkata Knight Riders at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Playing for RCB was Rahul's dream, which he fulfilled by signing with the team before the 2013 season at the age of 20. Rahul had two stints with RCB. He shared an interaction with RCB captain Virat Kohli from his early days with the franchise. In a conversation with veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul revealed Kohli’s reaction when he signed his first IPL contract with RCB.
“Virat Kohli and other RCB support staff were present at the ITC Gardenia when Virat jokingly asked me, “Would you want to sign this contract and play for RCB?” I excitedly responded, “That would be a dream come true!” Virat smiled and said, “I’m just kidding, you don’t have a choice. Go ahead and sign the contract.” I eagerly signed, after which Virat remarked, “You’re in for an amazing ride over the next few months.”
Rahul was selected by RCB based on his impressive performance in the 2013 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament. However, he only scored 20 runs for RCB that year and was subsequently released. He was then signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the following season for 1 crore INR. It was with SRH in 2014 that Rahul found greater success. He scored 166 runs. He also made his Test debut that year.
Rahul rejoined the Bengaluru franchise in 2016. He scored 397 runs in 14 matches. He was then sold to Punjab Kings for 11 crore rupees in a high-priced deal. Rahul was later appointed captain of Lucknow Super Giants for the 2022 season after winning the IPL 2020 Orange Cap.