IPL 2020: KL Rahul announced as Kings XI Punjab skipper for the upcoming season
What's the story?
Kings XI Punjab have named their star Indian international opener KL Rahul as the captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.
The background
Lokesh Rahul made his debut in the Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise back in the 2013 edition of the competition. He moved further to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for a couple of seasons before moving back to the Royal Challengers for the 2016 IPL season.
Rahul had a breakout season with RCB in 2016 scoring a total of 397 runs in 14 matches but had to miss the 2017 edition due to a shoulder injury. He was picked up the next year by the Kings XI Punjab for a whopping sum of 11 Crores INR.
The heart of the matter
Kings XI Punjab were captained by Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the 2018 IPL season as the side finished outside the playoffs spot in the sixth position.
KL Rahul formed a stellar opening partnership with West Indian big-hitter Chris Gayle for the Kings XI Punjab. Rahul finished with a tally of 593 runs in 14 matches and was the second-highest runs scorer in the entire league. He scored six fifties and had an unbeaten century score backed by a healthy strike rate of 135.38.
Rahul has been in fine form for the Indian national side as well scoring a century in India's recent ODI win over West Indies at Vizag.
Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness Wadia was optimistic with their captain choice on the day of the IPL Auction which is being held in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal.
We are happy to appoint Rahul as our captain for the upcoming season. He has been through a lot in the last year or so and has now come back strongly
What's next?
Kings XI Punjab have done well at the auction picking up strong buys like Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell etc to form a squad that could challenge for the title under the leadership of their star opener KL Rahul.