File photo of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul© BCCI/Sportzpics
KL Rahul could be leading the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 but a part of his heart still lies with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the team of his ‘home’. Rahul started his career with RCB in 2013 but also had stints with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) before being appointed as the captain of LSG. In a candid conversation, Rahul revealed an intriguing tale of his first contract with RCB, including a special conversation with Virat Kohli. (IPL 2024 Points Table)
Sharing the story, Rahul revealed that it was Virat who asked him if he would like to play for RCB, after a brilliant Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. The next two months changed Rahul’s life entirely.
“Virat was there (ITC Gardenia), coach Ray Jennings and other support staff were also there and Virat only said, ‘Would you want to sign this contract and play for RCB?’ I was like, ‘Are you kidding? It was always my dream.’ And then he said ‘I’m just kidding. It’s not an option, just sign this contract.’ I signed and Virat said ‘It’s gonna be a crazy ride. You’re going to enjoy a lot in the next couple of months’,” Rahul said in a video shared by Ahswin on his YouTube channel.
“The things that I learned (at RCB) in those two months, I mean the amount of time it would have taken me to be the player by playing just Ranji Trophy would have probably taken it 7-8 seasons. Those two months in the IPL, I gained so much knowledge and experience and everything was fast-forwarded,” Rahul added.
Though Rahul could never cement his place in the RCB team, eventually being released after the 2016 season, it would’ve been a dream had the Karnataka batter managed to spend his entire career with the Bengaluru franchise.
“I would have also loved to play for Bangalore. I had started there, I would have liked to finish there and that was there in my head. But the beauty of IPL is that you get to go into different teams with different players,” Rahul concluded.
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