Last two seasons of IPL with KXIP has been brilliant and fruitful, reckons KL Rahul

Before his move to Kings XI Punjab, Rahul had already made his name in the T20 format as a batsman in the Red and Gold jersey of Royal Challengers Bangalore alongside Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However, it was only after his move to the Punjab-based franchise, where his stock saw a rise never seen before, thanks to his scintillating form. In just the two seasons with the franchise, he has scored 1252 runs, at an average of 54.4. 

Recalling his last two seasons, the right-hander revealed that his stint with the Punjab franchise has been fruitful, which has changed his life. Before Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore assignment, the right-hander was part of the 2014-15 Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. Ahead of this season, the Karnataka opener was named as the skipper of the franchise, with the 2020 edition being his first as a captain. 

“My partnership with Kings XI Punjab has been brilliant. It was going to be a big season for me as well having being entrusted with the captaincy. So yeah, it’s changed my life,” Rahul said during the show ‘Open Nets with Mayank’ on IPL’s official website, reported TOI. 

While he narrowly missed out on a century in the 2018 season, he finally reached the three-figure mark in the 2019 edition at the Wankhede against the same opponents Mumbai Indians. However, even his hundred on the day could not help the tourists came away with a victory as Kieron Pollard notched up a 31-ball 83 to help Mumbai cross the victory line. 

“I have been playing IPL for the last five-six seasons but it is only in the last couple of years that I managed to do really well. However, I was not getting a hundred despite coming close to the mark. So I said to myself last year that I am not going to miss out on a big score again at the Wankhede,” Rahul asserted.