IPL 2021: KL Rahul Likely To Leave Punjab Kings After Other Franchises Shows Interest

As per reports in Cricbuzz, Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul is likely to part ways with the franchise after reports of other franchises have shown interest in roping him in. Despite Punjab Kings’ exit from the tournament, Rahul is still leading the run-scoring charts in the season. He took over as the skipper of the side in IPL 2020 and has top-scored for the side every year since joining them in 2018.

The BCCI is yet to announce the retention policies for the next season with two new teams coming into the mix and a mega auction lined up. However, there are still concerns over how the board will set the rules for the Right To Match cards available for a franchise.

2548 Runs In 55 Games For KL Rahul

Talks of Punjab Kings using the RTM card for KL Rahul are still not confirmed and thus the rumors of him leaving the franchise is a strong one. Batting coupled with the pressure of captaincy has taken a toll on Rahul and time and again he has highlighted the point.

Rahul has also spoken about the team not finishing games off as they should have in all the post-match interactions. Punjab lost eight games in the league stage finishing their season on the sixth position in the points table.

“I know there has been a lot of talk in the last 3-4 years about my strike rate and me playing slowly. But only my team and I know what’s my role and what my responsibility is. I tried to play the role the team requires off me every game. I feel I am letting the team down if I play the kind of cricket I want to play. It’s always team first for me. That’s how I have grown up and that’s how I will continue to play. Today the team needed this. I was happy that I could play this kind of a knock” said Rahul after Punjab’s last game against CSK.

Rahul has played 55 matches for Punjab scoring 2548 runs in as many innings with 23 fifties and two hundred at an average of 56.62 and a strike rate touching 140.

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