[Watch] "Rohit, Virat or Dhoni?" - KL Rahul asked to pick a teammate for IPL 2025
Team India batter KL Rahul was put in a spot during a recent interview when he was asked to pick an IPL 2025 teammate - the options being Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. While Rohit, Kohli and Dhoni have been retained by their respective franchises, Rahul was released by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Rahul captained the LSG franchise from 2022 to 2024. The team reached the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 but failed to go all the way. In 2024, Lucknow Super Giants fared poorly, finishing seventh in the points table. While Rohit, Kohli, and Dhoni were retained by Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai respectively, Rahul will be part of the mega auction at the highest base price of ₹2 crore.
During an interview on Star Sports, the 32-year-old was asked a rather tough question in a segment called 'KL in a pickle'. The first query went as follows:
"Pick an IPL teammate in 2025 - Rohit, Virat or Dhoni?"
On expected lines, the right-handed batter fought it rather tricky to come up with a response to the query. He replied:
"I don't know. It's a tough one. This is a real pickle you have put me in. I have enjoyed playing with all of them. Very tough to answer.”
Watch from 17:10 onwards
Kohli (8,004) is the all-time leading run-getter in the IPL, while Rohit (6,628) is at number three. Dhoni (5,243) is sixth on the list of leading run-getters in the T20 league, while Rahul (4,683) currently occupies the 11th position.
Gautam Gambhir has backed under-fire Rahul to do the job in Australia
Rahul was part of the Indian team that went down 3-0 to New Zealand in the three-match Test series at home. The right-handed batter registered scores of 0 & 12 in the first Test at his home ground in Bengaluru and was subsequently dropped from the playing XI for the next two games.
While questions were raised about Rahul's selection in the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, head coach Gautam Gambhir threw his weight behind the embattled cricketer. Speaking to the media ahead of India's departure for Australia, he commented:
"...He can bat at the top of the order, he can bat at No. 3 and he can actually bat at No. 6 as well. You need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kinds of jobs as well. And he's kept wickets in the one-day format as well. Imagine how many countries have players like KL who can open the batting and can bat at No. 6 as well?"
Rahul was part of the India A playing XI for the second unofficial Test against Australia A in Melbourne. He had a poor match, getting dismissed for 4 & 10 as India A lost the contest by six wickets.