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KL Rahul has disclosed the reasons behind his decision to leave the Lucknow Super Giants and return to the IPL 2025 mega auction pool.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, according to right-handed batsman K.L. Rahul, will provide him with a platform to enjoy his game and eventually return to the India T20I squad. Rahul has not played for India in the shortest format since the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup. Since making his debut in 2016, Rahul has participated in 72 Twenty20 Internationals for India, scoring 2,265 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.12, including two hundreds and 22 fifties. From the IPL 2022 to 2024, Rahul led the Lucknow Super Giants, who qualified for the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.
Before being let go by the team before the 2025 season, Rahul amassed 1410 runs, the most the team had scored in three seasons. Rahul will be looking for a new team to help him turn around his T20 fortunes at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction, which is scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Jeddah.
In a promotional video that Star Sports uploaded to their ‘X’ account, Rahul stated, “I have been out of the T20 team for a while and I know where I stand as a player and I know what I need to do to get back. So I will look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform where I can go back and enjoy my cricket and my aim is obviously to get back into the Indian T20 team.”
He also discussed his motivation for joining the mega auction pool. “I wanted to make a new beginning. I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom, where the team atmosphere could be something lighter. Sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself.”
KL RAHUL WANTS TO RETURN INTO INDIAN T20I TEAM 🔥
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 11, 2024
– The mission is on for IPL 2025….!!!!
Don’t miss this exclusive chat on November 12th, 10 PM, only on Star Sports! #IPLAuctionOnStar pic.twitter.com/EKAtV3F4R8
Rahul will be next seen in action when India play the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener against Australia on November 22 in Perth. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in the running to open the batting with captain Rohit Sharma, who is not guaranteed to play in Perth. The other opening option is uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran.