"I think he's done an excellent job at the helm" - Jonty Rhodes credits KL Rahul for laying the foundation at LSG as captain
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fielding coach Jonty Rhodes has praised KL Rahul's impact as the franchise's captain since their inception in 2022. Under the wicket-keeper batter's leadership, LSG made it to the playoffs in each of their first two seasons.
However, a disappointing seventh-place finish in the 2024 edition coupled with Rahul's inability to score quickly at the start, has led to some serious questions. Furthermore, with the three-year cycle ending, the LSG ownership have some major decisions to make ahead of the apparent mega auction.
The relationship between the owner-captain was deemed strained after an ugly on-field argument following LSG's staggering defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, the pair recently met in Kolkata to discuss plans moving forward. Although nothing has been set in stone regarding the 32-year-old's potential retention, the talks were reportedly positive.
Jonty Rhodes noted how Rahul had the task of leading a brand-new franchise, and has done a solid job of laying down the standards to make it to the playoffs in past editions.
"I think if you look at a record as a captain of a brand-new franchise, getting into the playoffs every time like he has, it's been something that goes a long way towards his captaincy, to the way that he leads the team and the sort of set up and the approach that he has," Rhodes said in an interview with India Today.
"So you know, to look at Rohit's record as a captain, Dhoni's record as a captain, the trophies that those guys have won and the consistency that they've done to winning trophies, from LSG's point of view, it might just be one thing getting into the final, winning the trophy," Rhodes added.
KL Rahul was one of the three pre-auction signings that LSG made ahead of the 2022 auction along with Ravi Bishnoi and Marcus Stoinis.
Rhodes recalled MI's initial struggle when it came to winning the IPL title, and believes LSG are going through a similar phase. The five-time champions had to wait until 2013 to claim their first silverware, and did not even make it to the playoffs in the first two seasons of the competition.
"It then turns out MI didn't win a trophy for quite a few years at the start. Once they learned how to win trophies, they kept going and kept going. So I think from that point of view, I think he's done an excellent job at the helm, with a brand new franchise, setting up a new culture, with new owners and, and that I think is an indication of how well he's captained the team in a set-up where there are players from all over the country in India who are very different and all over the world," Rhodes concluded.
KL Rahul scored 520 runs in IPL 2024 at a strike rate of 136.13, but missed out on Team India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup as Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson were preferred by the selectors.
"All I will say is KL Rahul is family" - Sanjiv Goenka on KL Rahul
It remains to be seen whether LSG chooses to retain KL Rahul or release him back into the auction after a topsy-turvy IPL 2024 campaign.
"I don’t want to comment on speculation. All I will say is KL Rahul is family," Goenka told RevSportz recently.
LSG, like all other franchises, are eagerly awaiting the BCCI's ruling regarding the retention and auction rules, after a lot of reservation was expressed towards the recurring mega auction model.