IPL 2022: Saying goodbye to Punjab Kings was a tough decision, says Lucknow captain KL Rahul

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IPL 2022: KL Rahul, who had led Punjab Kings for the last two seasons, chose not to be held by the former finalists. He was drafted by the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 16 crore.

KL Rahul to Lead Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 (Photo Courtesy: KL Rahul Twitter)

KL Rahul to Lead Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022 (Photo Courtesy: KL Rahul Twitter)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • KL Rahul was designed by Lucknow Franchise at Rs 16 crore
  • Rahul ended his 4 year association with Punjab Kings
  • Mayank Agarwal will lead PBKS in IPL 2022

India’s star batter KL Rahul said Monday leaving Punjab Kings was a difficult decision but wanted to discover something new while in it decided not to be retained from the former finalists ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Mega Auction 2022.

KL Rahul, who managed PBKS in 2020 and 2021 after joining the franchise in 2018, joined Lucknow Super Giants. Rahul was drafted by the new franchise owned by RP Sanjiv Goenka Group for Rs 16 crore and named their captain for IPL 2022.

Rahul had scored over 550 goals in each of the last 4 seasons for Punjab Kings but the opener in India failed to win a title with the franchise coached by Anil Kumble.

Rahul was drafted along with Marcus Stoinis and Ravi Bishnoi by the Lucknow Super Giants who had a nice auction in Bengaluru and won some exciting talent for the new season starting March 26th.

“I’ve been with them for four years and had a great run with them. I just wanted to see what’s in store for me and if there’s a new journey for me. It has obviously been a tough decision in Punjab for a long time. I wanted to see if I could do something different,” Rahul told Red Bull.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings appointed Mayank Agarwal, who they retained, as captain for IPL 2022. There was speculation that their new signing Shikhar Dhawan would take over as captain, but PBKS opted for their reliable opener to lead the side .

Earlier in the auction, head coach Kumble had acknowledged that PBKS were interested in keeping Rahul, but they respected his decision to leave the franchise after the 2021 IPL season.

“We wanted to keep him, that’s one of the reasons why we chose him as captain two years ago. But he decided to take part in the auction. We respect that, we honor his decision. It’s the player’s prerogative,” Kumble said.

The Lucknow Super Giants will open their campaign against another new team at Gujarat Titans led by Hardik Pandya, while PBKS take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opener on March 27th.

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