KL Rahul Biography – This rising cricketer from Bangalore could be the next wicket-keeper batsman for India!
Family Background of KL Rahul:
Lokesh Rahul, aka KL Rahul, was born on April 18 in 1992, in Mangalore, Karnataka. His father, KN Lokesh, is a professor in Geology at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK).
His mother, Rajeshwari, is also a professor, in History, at Mangalore University (MU).
KL Rahul has a younger sister named Bhavana.
Education:
He did his schooling at NITK English Medium School, Suratkhal. He completed his graduation in B.Com from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bengaluru.
Early Life:
KL Rahul had shown his interest in cricket as early as 11. Later his father admitted him to Dakshin Kannada Cricket Association, where Rahul started his training under Samuel Jayraj Muthu. He used to travel 20 Km from his school to the academy.
At the age of 11, he appeared at the Under-13 trials but couldn’t make it to the final list. However, he managed to get into the team later.
Subsequently, he started playing as a wicket-keeper batsman for his team, as his coach advised him for that because of his short height at that time.
When Rahul applauded Rahul:
Once, KL Rahul scored a double century for his team in one of the Under-13 age-level cricket matches at Chinnaswamy ground. Luckily, another Rahul, i.e., Rahul Dravid, witnessed that power-packed inning of KL.
Dravid got so influenced by his batting skills that he later asked his coach, Jayraj, to care for the little talented kid.
Later, he played in Under-15 and Under-17 age-level cricket for Karnataka. In 2006, at 17, he moved to Banglore because there was a lack of facilities in his hometown. He then honed his batting skills under the guidance of Anil Kumar and Somsekhar Shiraguppi.
Biography of KL Rahul:
| Rahul's Profile: | |
|---|---|
| Personal Life: | |
| Full Name | Kannur Lokesh Rahul |
| Known as | KL Rahul |
| Date of Birth | April 18, 1992 |
| Age | 30 years, 2 months (in 2022) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Zodiac/Sun Sign | Aries |
| Birth Place | Mangalore, Banglore, Karnataka. |
| School | NITK English Medium School, Suratkhal. |
| College | Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bengaluru. |
| Physical Stats: | |
| Height (Approx) | 5ft. 11” (1.80 m) (180 cm) |
| Weight (Approx) | 75 kg (165 lbs) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Family & Relationships: | |
| Father | KN Lokesh |
| Mother | Rajeshwari |
| Siblings | Bhavana KL |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Girlfriend | Athiya Shetty |
| Career: | |
| Profession | Cricketer |
| Playing Role | Wicket-keeper Batsman |
| Batting Style | Right-hand bat |
| Bowling Style | - |
| Major Teams | India, India Under-19s, India Under-23s, Karnataka, Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban), South Zone, Karnataka State Cricket Association Colts XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings. |
| Test Debut | Australia vs India at Melbourne (December 26, 2014) |
| ODI Debut | Zimbabwe vs India at Harare (June 11, 2016) |
| T20I Debut | Zimbabwe v India at Harare (June 18, 2016) |
| First-Class Debut | Punjab vs Karnataka at Mohali (November 10, 2010) |
| List-A Debut | Hyderabad vs Karnataka at Chennai (February 16, 2010) |
| T-20 Debut | Goa vs Karnataka at Shimoga (March 17, 2013) |
KL Rahul’s Cricket Career:
KL Rahul represented India at the 2010 Under-19 cricket world cup tournament held in New Zealand. He played his first world cup match against Afghanistan, where he scored 35 runs as an opening batsman.
Then, in his very 2nd match, KL scored a fifty against Hong Kong, scoring 62 runs. He played six games in the tournament and scored a total of 171 runs.
Later, on February 16, 2010, he started his List-A career for Karanataka against Hyderabad at Chennai, where he scored 36 runs, including five fours off 47 balls.
In the same year, on November 10, he made his First-Class debut opposite Punjab in Ranji Trophy. He scored 18 runs in the first and 61 runs in the second innings, which ultimately led his team to win by eight wickets.
On March 17, 2013, KL Rahul made his T20 debut against Karnataka in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at Shimoga.
International Career:
On December 26, 2014, Rahul made his Test debut against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne. His Test debut didn’t go well as he could score a total of only four runs in both the inning. He scored 110 runs at Sydney in the next Test, including 13 fours and a six in 262 balls.
Later, on June 11, 2016, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe. KL scored a century on his ODI debut match and became the first Indian player to achieve the feat. His stats in the game were – 100 runs, including seven fours and 1 six, off 115 balls. A week later, he made his T2oI debut against the same team.
He was also part of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, where he scored 360 runs in 9 matches, including a century with an average of 45.00. He later opened for the 2021 T20I World Cup.
Rahul’s IPL Career:
Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) bought KL Rahul for the IPL 2013 as a wicket-keeper batsman. He made his IPL debut for RCB against KKR on April 11, 2013; however, he didn’t get to play.
Later, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) signed him for IPL 2014 and remained part of the same franchise for the 2015 IPL season.
He was again signed by RCB for the 2016 IPL, where he scored his maiden IPL fifty against Gujarat Lions. Not just did he score a half-century, but he also hit three back-to-back fifties in the tournament.
He finished the tournament as the third-highest run-scorer for his team. He missed the next season of IPL because of his shoulder injury.
Later, KXIP signed KL Rahul for a whopping 11 crore INR. He well-justified the price by his performance, as he scored six half-centuries in that season, including 95* runs against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and 94 against Mumbai Indians(MI). He also scored the fastest fifty of IPL in just 14 balls.
In the next season of IPL, KL played for the same team and scored his maiden IPL century against the Mumbai Indians.
In IPL 2020, against RCB, he made his highest ever IPL score. He scored 132 runs off 69 balls, including 14 fours and seven sixes. Also, KL became the fastest Indian to reach 2000 runs in IPL (60 Innings), beating the record of Sachin Tendulkar of 63 innings.
He played for the same team in 2021; however, he later joined Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2022.
IPL Stats:
| KL Rahul's IPL Stats: | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | Runs | HS | Average | Strike-Rate | 50/100 | |
| 2013 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 20.75 | 125.00 | 0/0 |
| 2014 | 11 | 166 | 46 | 20.75 | 101.21 | 0/0 |
| 2015 | 9 | 142 | 44* | 28.40 | 112.69 | 0/0 |
| 2016 | 14 | 397 | 68* | 44.11 | 146.49 | 4/0 |
| 2018 | 14 | 659 | 95* | 54.91 | 158.41 | 6/0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 593 | 100* | 53.90 | 135.38 | 6/1 |
| 2020 | 14 | 670 | 132* | 55.83 | 129.34 | 5/1 |
Facts about KL Rahul:
- His father is a big fan of Sunil Gavaskar, so he wanted to name his son after Sunil Gavaskar’s son, i.e., Rohan Gavaskar, but he goofed Rohan as Rahul.
- In the Under-13 Inter-zonal tournament, Rahul hit two double centuries for his team.
- He is the first Indian batsman to be hit-wicket in T20Is.
- Rahul is a tattoo lover.
- He idolizes Rahul Dravid.
- Favorites:
- Cricketer – Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
- Sportsperson – Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
- Movie – Batman series.
- Musician/Band – Coldplay and The Script.
- Actresses – Scarlett Johansson and Shradhha Kapoor.
- Rahul holds the record for being the fastest batsman who has scored centuries in all three formats of cricket.
- He is the first cricketer from Karnataka who scored a triple century in First-Class cricket.
- In 2019, the BCCI suspended KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya for their controversial comments on a talk show.
- Till writing, Rahul is the only batsman to reach Hundred with a six in all three formats.
Who is KL Rahul’s girlfriend?
He had been in a relationship with actresses Sonal Chauhan and Nidhi Agrawal in the past. His name was also linked-up with Akansha Ranjan Kapoor. However, he had dismissed such rumors in his interviews.
At present, KL Rahul is dating Bollywood actress Athiya Shetty. Athiya is the daughter of actor Suniel Shetty.
Frequently asked questions on Google:
Q1: What is the age of Rahul?
Ans: 30 years, 2 months (in 2022)
Q2: What is the height of KL Rahul?
Ans: 5ft. 11” (1.8 m or 180 cm)
Q3: Who is the girlfriend of KL Rahul?
Ans: KL is dating actress Athiya Shetty.
Q4: What is the full name of KL?
Ans: Kannur Lokesh Rahul
Social Media Accounts:
- Kane Williamson
- Anrich Nortje
- Daniel Sams
- Prasidh Krishna
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Marco Jansen
- Shahrukh Khan (cricketer)
- Anukul Roy
- Karun Nair
- Kona Srikar Bharat (KS)
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