KL Rahul is an Indian cricketer, who has played in all three formats of cricket for India. He has won Ranji Trophy twice and captained India in the test and ODI formats of the game. He also served as a wicketkeeper on a few occasions.
Wiki/Biography
Kannur Lokesh Rahul was born on Saturday, 18 April 1992 (age 30 years; as of 2022) at the National Institute Karnataka (NITK) in Surathkal, Mangalore, Karnataka. His zodiac sign is Aries. He completed his high school at NITK English Medium school and pre-university at St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. He started playing cricket under the coach Jayaraj Samuel Muthu at the age of 11 years and played local matches in Mangalore. At the age of 18, he moved to Bangalore to pursue his cricket career and enrolled for graduation at JAIN (Deemed-to-be University).
KL Rahul during his childhood (in red)
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Weight (approx.): 70 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 40″, Waist 32″, Biceps 14″
Family
He belongs to a South Indian Hindu family.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Dr. K. N. Lokesh, and his mother’s name is Rajeshwari Lokesh. His father is a former professor and former director at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal and his mother is a professor of history at Mangalore University. He has a sister named Bhavna.
KL Rahul with his family
Wife & Children
He is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2017, he was alleged to be in a relationship with the model Elixir Nahar.
KL Rahul with Elixir Nahar (left)
In 2018, he was spotted with actress Nidhhi Agerwal in Bangalore. In August 2019, he was rumoured to be in a relationship with actress Akansha Ranjan Kapoor. In June 2021, it was rumoured that he is dating Sonam Bajwa.
Sonam Bajwa
In November 2021, he confirmed that he is in a relationship with Suniel Shetty‘s daughter Athiya Shetty.
KL Rahul with Athiya Shetty (right)
Religion/Religious Views
He follows Hinduism.
KL Rahul during a visit to a temple
Caste
He belongs to the Lingayat caste.
Autograph
Career
Domestic Career
Kl Rahul debuted in the 2010-2011 season for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He was part of India’s Under-19 World Cup Team in 2010. In the 2013-2014 season of the Ranji Trophy, he scored 1033 runs at an average of 68.86, with 131 runs in the first innings of the final match, and Karnataka emerged as the winner of that season. He played for West Zone in the 2014-2015 season of the Duleep Trophy, and he scored 185 runs and 130 runs in the final match; however, South Zone lost the match by 9 runs. In the 2014-2015 season of the Ranji Trophy, he scored 337 runs against Uttar Pradesh in a match and became the first cricketer from Karnataka to score a triple century in the Ranji Trophy. In the final match of the same season, he scored 188 runs and Karnataka won the 2014-2015 Ranji Trophy.
International Tests
He made his test debut on 26 December 2014 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia. He has played against all major test-playing nations like South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. In his second test match, he scored 110 runs against Australia, and in his fourth test match, he scored 108 runs against Sri Lanka. In July 2016, he scored 158 runs in a match against West Indies, and in December 2016, he scored 199 runs in a match against England. In September 2018, he scored 149 runs in a match against England. In August 2021, he scored 129 runs in a match against England, and in December 2021, he scored 123 runs against South Africa.
KL Rahul on his test debut
ODIs
He made his ODI debut on 11 June 2016 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe. He has played against all major ODI-playing nations like Pakistan, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand. He scored 100 runs not out in his debut ODI match against Zimbabwe, and in July 2019, he scored 111 runs in a match against Sri Lanka. He scored 361 runs in the 2019 ODI World Cup at an average of 45.13 and scored 111 runs in a match against Sri Lanka during the group stage. In December 2019, he scored 102 runs in a match against West Indies, and in February 2020, he scored 112 runs in a match against New Zealand. In March 2021, he scored 108 runs in a match against England.
T20Is
He played his debut T20I match on 18 June 2016 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe. In August 2016, he scored 110 runs not out in a match against West Indies, and in July 2018, he scored 101 runs not out in a match against England. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, he scored 194 runs at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 152.76, and in the 2022 T20 World Cup, he scored 128 runs at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of 120.75.
Indian Premier League (IPL)
KL Rahul debuted in the 2013 season of the IPL and played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). In the 2014 and 2015 seasons of IPL, he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He returned to RCB in the 2016 season and played for Kings XI Punjab from 2018 to 2021. He played for Lucknow Super Giants in the 2022 season. In the 2019 season, he scored 100 runs not out in a match against Mumbai Indians, and in the 2020 season, he scored 132 runs not out in a match against RCB. In the 2022 season, he scored 103 runs not out on two separate occasions, both scored against Mumbai Indians.
KL Rahul in IPL
Captaincy
In the 2022 India tour of South Africa, he became the captain in the second test match and thus, became the 34th Test captain of India. In the same series, he captained the Indian team in ODIs for the first time and became the 26th ODI captain of India.
Controversies
KL Rahul was at the centre of a controversy in January 2019, after the episode of Koffee With Karan aired in which KL Rahul and another Indian cricketer, Hardik Pandya, were asked questions by the host Karan Johar about their relationships, crushes, lifestyle, and movies. The remarks of both players against women were termed misogynistic, and BCCI suspended both players for an indefinite period, and an explanation was sought from both cricketers. Rahul talked about this in an interview and said that he changed his approach towards cricket and decided to dedicate himself towards playing cricket more seriously. He said in that interview,
We all know our careers are not too long and I realised after 2019 that I probably have a good 12 or 11 years left in me and I need to dedicate all my time and energy towards becoming a player and team man.”
Injury
In 2015, Rahul returned home during the Bangladesh series as he got ill due to Dengue. In the 2016 New Zealand series, he injured his hamstring and played only 1 test in the whole series. In the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy, he injured his left shoulder during the first test; however, he continued to play with the injured shoulder, which intensified the injury and he had to opt out of the full season of the 2017 IPL and Champions Trophy 2017. In April 2017, he underwent surgery in London and returned after 3 months. During the 2021 IPL season, he complained of abdominal pain, which was later found to be acute appendicitis. In June 2022, he was diagnosed with Sports Hernia and underwent surgery in Germany. During his recovery after the operation, he was diagnosed with COVID-19, and he made a comeback to the Indian team in the series against Zimbabwe in August 2022.
Car Collection
He owns a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder, worth Rs4.10 crore, an Audi R8 worth Rs2.30 crore, a BMW 5 Series worth Rs63.90 lakh, the Land Rover Range Rover Velar worth Rs1.02 crore, the Mercedes C43 AMG worth Rs75 lakh, and an Aston Martin DB11 worth Rs3.79 crore.
Salary
He earns Rs 5 crore annually from his contract with BCCI and earns Rs 1 crore from brand endorsements.
Net Worth
His net worth is Rs70 crore.
Favourites
- Batsman: AB de Villiers
- Stadium: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, Karnataka
- Cricket Shot: On Drive
- Mobile application: Instagram
- Actress: Scarlett Johansson
- Name: Alexandar
- Song: Cold water by Justin Bieber
Facts/Trivia
- He was awarded the Eklavya award by the Karnataka state government in November 2020.
Thank You Government of Karnataka for bestowing me with the Ekalavya Award. It would not be possible without the support of my coaches, teammates, friends and families. I will continue to work hard to make our state and India proud #grateful
— K L Rahul (@klrahul) November 2, 2020
- He is the first Indian cricketer to score a century on his ODI debut.
- In 2018, he was appointed as an Assistant Manager at the Reserve Bank of India on the recommendation of the then Governor of RBI, SS Mundhra.
- He has 24 tattoos, some of which include his parents’ names, a lighthouse on his left forearm, and wings on the back.
Lighthouse tattoo on the left arm of KL Rahul
- He is the first Indian batsman to score 7 half-centuries in consecutive innings of test matches.
- He holds the record for the most number of catches in a test series (14 catches in the 2018 Pataudi Trophy).
- On 22 December 2017, he put up a partnership of 165 runs for the first wicket in a T20I match against Sri Lanka, which is the highest opening stand for India in T20Is.
- In December 2021, he scored 123 runs in a test match against South Africa at Cape Town. With this century, he became the second Indian opener to score a century in South Africa in a test match, the third visiting opener with a century in test cricket in England, South Africa, and Australia, and the second Indian opener with the most number of centuries in tests in South Africa, Australia, England, and New Zealand.
- His father was a huge fan of Sunil Gavaskar and wanted to name Rahul after Sunil’s son Rohan; however, his father misunderstood Rohan as Rahul and named him Rahul.
- He likes to collect watches, and he owns three Rolex watches, the Day-Date 18k Rose Gold, Cosmograph Daytona, and Datejust Oyster Yellow Gold. He also owns Panerai Radiomir 1940, Hublot Classic Fusion Ceramic King Gold, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Stainless Steel, and Patek Philippe Nautilus 57121/A.