IPL History: 3 players whose IPL careers blossomed after leaving RCB
The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is done and dusted with Mumbai winning its 4th title against their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings. Even though this edition seemed to be dominated by the giants, the underdogs put up a very good fight. Teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab failed to make it to the play-offs because of lower net run rate. On the other hand, RCB had another miserable season losing six consecutive matches. In the next eight matches, they were able to win on five occasions, but that wasn’t enough. Things haven’t gone their way since that defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final of IPL 2016. They have struggled to perform as a unit and win games for their franchise. The team has brought in new players but it hasn’t helped them much.
There have been instances in the past where a particular player went on to play well for a franchise after leaving RCB. Let us take a look at three such players:
#1. KL Rahul:
KL Rahul started his IPL career when he was picked as a back-up keeper for RCB in 2013. In the following season, he moved to SRH where he failed to make his mark. He came back to RCB in 2016 season where he had a wonderful season scoring close to 400 runs. Up until then, everyone had seen Rahul striking at 100 or 110. But in 2016, he worked on his game that helped him score at a quicker rate. Even though he was part of the 2017 squad, he was forced to pull out due to a shoulder injury. In the 2018 auctions, Rahul was auctioned to KXIP for a whooping 11 crores. He justified his price tag by scoring 659 runs in 14 matches that included six fifties and a highest score of 95*. He was the highest run getter for KXIP and third overall in that edition. He continued his form in 2019 scoring his maiden hundred against Mumbai Indians. He went on to amass 593 runs in 14 matches becoming the key player for KXIP.