"IPL Owners from Business Backgrounds…": KL Rahul’s Message Ahead of Auction

As the IPL 2024 auction approaches, many top players are facing scrutiny regarding their futures, including India batter and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain KL Rahul. Rahul's performance during the IPL 2024 season was underwhelming, both as a batsman and as captain, which, coupled with his removal from Team India's T20I plans, has affected his reputation. Amid ongoing speculation about his potential exit as LSG skipper and possibly from the team altogether, Rahul has conveyed a subtle message to IPL team owners.

In a recent discussion on Nitin Kamath's podcast, Rahul noted that many IPL owners come from business backgrounds and heavily rely on data for player selection. However, he emphasised that data alone does not guarantee success.

"Owners coming from business background in IPL, they do research and pick the team, but it doesn't guarantee that you will win every game. You might get the best player based on data, but they might have a horrible year. Every player can have a bad day in sports. There's nothing in sport that guarantees success. There's no formula that can get you success," said Rahul.

During the podcast, Rahul also discussed the Koffee With Karan episode featuring Hardik Pandya, which led to his suspension from the Indian team.

"The interview was a different world altogether. That changed me. I was a very shy, soft-spoken boy growing up. And then, I played for India, and for the next three to four years, I became very confident. I had no problem being a huge group of people. People would know I have been in a room with 100 people because I would talk to everyone. Now, I do not because the interview scarred me massively. Getting suspended from the team... I have never been suspended in school, never been punished. It just never happened to know how to handle it."