It has been 10 years since KL Rahul made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and his memories of his time at the camp are still fresh. The Karnataka keeper-batter is now on the hunt for a new franchise after being released by LSG ahead of IPL 2025 auction. Rahul recalled fond memories of sharing the dressing room with legends like Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan and Ab de Villiers and revealed what it felt like to train with them.
KL Rahul sheds light on his RCB days in IPL
KL Rahul found his way into RCB in 2013 after enjoying phenomenal success in the domestic circuit. The batter did not have a great run at RCB during his inaugural season and went on to move to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a couple of years before returning to RCB in 2016. Speaking on the KL Rahul Unplugged show on Star Sports, KL Rahul recalled the times when he was inspired by how Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and others trained, and how it helped him become better with time.
“I felt like a misfit among all the legends in RCB. I came in there as a youngster, did well in first-class cricket but didn’t believe in my white-ball cricket. I saw how Virat Kohli, Gayle trained, went about their journey etc. I followed Virat in my training and from that season my record in FC got better. 2015-16 i started playing white-ball cricket better,” KL Rahul revealed.
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KL Rahul’s stint with RCB
KL Rahul started his career with RCB in 2013, but he didn’t get enough game time to show the world what it was capable of. He then went to Sunrisers Hyderabad, struggled there for two years, and returned to RCB.
In a team full of heavyweight batters like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Shane Watson, Rahul held up his own really well. That 2016 season will always be remembered for Kohli, but he outshone each of these four greats at one point or another. Only three players scored more runs at a faster strike rate than Rahul (397 runs at 44.11 while striking at 146.97) in IPL 2016.