NEW DELHI: Following Lucknow Super Giants’ decisive defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, speculation swirls around KL Rahul’s future as the team’s captain for the final two games, with the team virtually out of contention for the IPL playoffs.
Rahul, who was signed for a record Rs 17 crore ahead of the 2022 auction, is rumored to be unlikely to be retained ahead of the mega auctions in 2025.
However, there are murmurs suggesting that he might voluntarily step down from the captaincy to focus on his batting in the upcoming matches.
“Currently, no decision has been made, but there’s an understanding that if Rahul opts to concentrate solely on his batting for the remaining two games, the management would support his decision,” an IPL source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
Following the swift chase by Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head (89 not out off 30 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (75 off 28 balls) reaching the target of 167 in less than 10 overs, videos surfaced on social media depicting a tense conversation between LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and KL Rahul.
This discussion ensued after LSG’s batters struggled to perform on the same track in Hyderabad. Moreover, Rahul’s lackluster batting performance, particularly in the Powerplay, has been a significant factor contributing to LSG’s subpar performance in the league, prompting speculation that Goenka may have reached his limit of patience.
Although Rahul has amassed 460 runs in 12 games and is poised to surpass the 500-run mark for the season, his strike-rate of 136.09 has been deemed problematic.
While LSG technically remain in contention with the possibility of reaching 16 points by winning their remaining two games against Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on May 14 and Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on May 17, significantly improving their net run-rate (-0.760) poses a considerable challenge. Should Rahul opt to step down, vice-captain Nicholas Pooran, who has been the team’s most impactful batter this season, is likely to assume the captaincy for the remaining two games.
