Kannur Lokesh Rahul better known as KL Rahul is an Indian cricketer who is known for stylish strokeplay. Rahul is one of the few Indian cricketers who has registered the hundred across all formats. KL came to team India as an opening batter but he batted in all positions from top order to lower order which sows his ability to adapt according to situations.
KL Rahul Biography
| Full name | Kannur Lokesh Rahul |
| Born | 18 April 1992, Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Age | 32 |
| Father | K.N. Lokesh |
| Mother | Rajeshwari |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | — |
| National side | India (2014–present) |
| Test Debut | 26 December 2014 vs Australia |
| ODI debut | 11 June 2016 vs Zimbabwe |
| ODI shirt no. | 1 (formerly 2, 11) |
| T20I debut | 18 June 2016 vs Zimbabwe |
| T20I shirt no. | 1 (formerly 2, 11) |
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Teams
KL Rahul Stats
Test Batting Record
| Mat | 55 |
| Inns | 94 |
| Runs | 3121 |
| HS | 199 |
| Avg | 34.29 |
| SR | 52.62 |
| 100s | 8 |
| 50s | 16 |
Test Bowling Record
| Mat | – |
| Inns | – |
| Overs | – |
| Runs | – |
| Wkts | – |
| BBI | – |
| Avg | – |
| Econ | – |
| SR | – |
| 4w | – |
| 5w | – |
ODI Batting Record
| Mat | 77 |
| Inns | 72 |
| Runs | 2851 |
| HS | 112 |
| Avg | 49.15 |
| SR | 87.56 |
| 100s | 7 |
| 50s | 18 |
ODI Bowling Record
| Mat | – |
| Inns | – |
| Overs | – |
| Runs | – |
| Wkts | – |
| BBI | – |
| Avg | – |
| Econ | – |
| SR | – |
| 4w | – |
| 5w | – |
T20I Batting Record
| Mat | 72 |
| Inns | 68 |
| Runs | 2265 |
| HS | 110* |
| Avg | 37.75 |
| SR | 139.12 |
| 100s | 2 |
| 50s | 22 |
| 4s | 191 |
| 6s | 99 |
T20I Bowling Record
| Mat | – |
| Inns | – |
| Overs | – |
| Runs | – |
| Wkts | – |
| BBI | – |
| Avg | – |
| Econ | – |
| SR | – |
| 4w | – |
| 5w | – |
IPL Batting Record
| Year | Mat | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 132 | 4683 | 132* | 45.47 | 134.61 | 4 | 37 | 400 | 187 |
| 2024 | 14 | 520 | 82 | 37.14 | 136.13 | 0 | 4 | 45 | 19 |
| 2023 | 9 | 274 | 74 | 34.25 | 113.22 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 4 |
| 2022 | 15 | 616 | 103* | 51.33 | 135.38 | 2 | 4 | 45 | 30 |
| 2021 | 13 | 626 | 98* | 62.6 | 138.8 | 0 | 6 | 48 | 30 |
| 2020 | 14 | 670 | 132* | 55.83 | 129.34 | 1 | 5 | 58 | 23 |
| 2019 | 14 | 593 | 100* | 53.9 | 135.38 | 1 | 6 | 49 | 25 |
| 2018 | 14 | 659 | 95* | 54.91 | 158.41 | 0 | 6 | 66 | 32 |
| 2016 | 14 | 397 | 68* | 44.11 | 146.49 | 0 | 4 | 37 | 16 |
| 2015 | 9 | 142 | 44* | 28.4 | 112.69 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 |
| 2014 | 11 | 166 | 46 | 20.75 | 101.21 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 |
| 2013 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 125 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
IPL Bowling Record
| Year | Mat | Runs | WKTS | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 132 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 15 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 13 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
KL Rahul Debut Matches
ODI Debut: 11 June 2016 vs Zimbabwe
T20I Debut: 18 June 2016 vs Zimbabwe
Test Debut: 26 December 2014 vs Australia
IPL Debut: 11 April 2013 vs Kolkata Knight Riders for Royal Challengers Bengaluru
KL Rahul Biography
Early Life and Background
Kannur Lokesh Rahul, popularly known as KL Rahul, was born on 18th April 1992 in Bangalore, Karnataka, to K. N. Lokesh and Rajeshwari. His father is a professor from Kannanur in Magadi and is a former director at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in Mangalore. Rahul’s mother is also a professor at Mangalore University and her name is Rajeshwari. Interestingly, Rahul’s father, a lover of cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, had meant to name his baby after Gavaskar’s son Rohan, but instead picked “Rahul.”
Rahul grew up in Mangalore, where he completed his high school at NITK English Medium School and pre-university studies at St. Aloysius College. Rahul started playing cricket at the age of 10 and quickly joined local clubs in Bangalore and Mangalore. At the age of 18, he relocated to Bangalore to further his cricket career, which proved to be a watershed moment in his decision to pursue cricket professionally.
Domestic Career
KL Rahul made his first-class cricket debut for Karnataka in 2010-11. He also played for India in the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, making 143 runs. Rahul made a strong mark in domestic cricket in the 2013–14 season, where he scored over 1,000 first-class runs. In the 2014–15 Duleep Trophy final, Rahul impressed with scores of 185 and 130, earning him a place in the Indian Test squad for the Australia tour. After returning from the Australia Tour, he made history by becoming Karnataka’s first triple-centurion, as he played a 337-run knock against Uttar Pradesh.
International Debut and Rise (2014–2021)
Rahul’s international career began in December 2014, with a Test debut against Australia in Melbourne. Despite a slow start in test cricket, he rapidly rediscovered form and recorded his first Test century in Sydney in the very next match. In 2016, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe and became the first Indian cricketer to achieve a century on debut, finishing the game with an unbeaten 100* from 115 balls. During the same tour, he made his T20I debut. On the 2016 India Tour of West Indies Rahul recorded his first T20I century and set a record by becoming the fastest player to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket, achieving the milestone in just 20 innings.
Rahul continued to impress in national colors with solid performances across all formats. He played 199 runs knock in the 2016-17 Test series against England and was instrumental in India’s triumph in the 2016 T20I series against the West Indies when he became the first player to make a T20I century while batting at number four. He became a regular feature in India’s middle order and also made valuable contributions as an opening batsman.
In 2019, Rahul was part of India’s World Cup squad, where he was among the team’s top scorers, amassing 361 runs. He also continued to make an impact in T20Is, striking a fast century against England in 2018. However, he was suspended in early 2019 after controversial comments made on a talk show named Coffee with Karan, only to return to the national side later that year.
Vice-Captaincy and Leadership Roles (2021–2023)
In 2021, following the resignation of Virat Kohli as the T20I captain, Rahul was appointed vice-captain of the Indian T20I team. He was also named India’s vice-captain for ODIs and Tests. He had a standout performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup, scoring 194 runs in five matches, including a joint-fastest fifty in the tournament. He captained India in various formats, including in South Africa in 2022, where he led in both ODIs and Tests after Rohit Sharma was ruled out due to injury.
Rahul’s leadership was further tested in the 2022 Asia Cup, where he captained the Indian side to an important victory. However, a dip in form in early 2023 led to his removal as vice-captain of the Test team, though he remained a fixture in the limited-overs squads. In the 2023 Asia Cup, Rahul made a successful return to form, scoring a match-winning 111 against Pakistan.
Rahul also played a key role in India’s 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign, recording significant scores, including a 97 against Australia and a record-breaking 100 against the Netherlands. However, his slow innings in the final against Australia was met with heavy criticism, following the heartbreaking loss in the final.
Captaincy and the Future
In late 2023, Rahul was appointed captain for India’s ODI series against South Africa, where he led the team to a 2-1 victory, becoming the second Indian captain after Virat Kohli to win an ODI series in South Africa. He continued to be a vital part of India’s Test lineup, scoring an important century in the December 2023 series against South Africa.
Indian Premier League (IPL)
Rahul’s IPL journey began in 2013 when he debuted for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was later picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014 and subsequently returned to RCB in 2016. However, it was in 2018 when he made a real impact, playing for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), where he scored a record-breaking 659 runs and finished as the team’s highest run-scorer. He was retained as the team’s vice-captain for 2019 and became the team’s captain in 2020.
Under his leadership, Punjab Kings saw some success initially, but in the later part of his Punjab career, Rahul had to face some setbacks in terms of team performance. Rahul scored 670 runs in the 2020 season, winning the Orange Cap. In 2022, Rahul was bought by Lucknow Super Giants as captain for a hefty amount of INR 17 crore. Rahul led LSG to the playoffs in their inaugural season. However, his tenure with LSG saw a few challenges, including a mid-season injury in 2023 that ruled him out for a portion of the tournament. Rahul was released by LSG in 2024 and Delhi Capitals capitalized on this opportunity to buy Rahul for INR 14 crore in the 2025 IPL Mega Auction.
International Centuries and Records
As of November 2024, KL Rahul has recorded 17 international centuries: 8 in Tests, 7 in ODIs, and 2 in T20Is. KL Rahul is the only Indian to score a century on his ODI debut and the first to score a T20I century while batting at the fourth position.
Personal Life
Rahul married his long-time girlfriend, actress Athiya Shetty daughter of famous Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty, on January 23, 2023. In November 2024, the couple announced their first pregnancy.
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