KL Rahul, one of the finest batters, is struggling to find a spot in India's T20 setup. However, the 32-year-old has not lost hope and is confident about making a roaring comeback in the shortest format, which he feels will help him regain his spot in the team. Rahul was part of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise up until last season but was not retained by the team ahead of the mega auction, which takes place on November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Rahul was the leading run-scorer from the franchise in the previous edition as he accumulated a staggering 520 runs from 14 matches. However, his strike-rate, which was 136.12 was pointed as an area of concern and reportedly pointed out as the reason behind his axing. On top of that Rahul also had a minor fallout with franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka, which was captured by TV cameras. The big controversy took place after LSG's 10-wicket drubbing against Sunrisers Hyderabad, who eventually finished as the runners-up of the season.
Also Read | 'Of course, Bengaluru is home': KL Rahul breaks silence on RCB return speculations ahead of IPL auction
If we talk about the incident, Goenka was seen having an animated chat with then LSG captain, who stood there and listened while the former was seen gesturing with his hands. Months after the incident, Rahul finally spoke about it during an interview with Star Sports.
Sharing his thoughts on the same, Rahul said: "As a team, we were all in shock because we were at the stage in that tournament where every game was very important. We had to win, I think, three out of five games or two out of the last four games. When this happened, it was just a big shock for all of us."
Describing the incident as "not the nicest things to be a part of", Rahul added that the moment had its repercussions. He added: "Whatever happened on the field after the game wasn't the nicest thing to be part of or something that anyone wants to see on the cricket field. I think it did affect the entire group. We still had a chance to make it into the playoffs. We had a chat as a team and tried to regroup, put everything aside, and try to put our best foot forward. We tried our best, but unfortunately, our best wasn't good enough always. It was a bummer that we couldn't really make the playoffs or win the season as we had hoped."
'Worst game I've been part of'
Rahul also spoke about the match between SRH and LSG, describing it as the "worst game" he has ever been part of. He also acknowledged the sensational hitting display by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who on that day helped their side chase down 166 with 10.2 overs to spare.
"I don't really know how much was made outside, but I just remember it was probably one of the worst games I've been part of as a player. But also, just from behind the stumps, I was amazed at how Sunrisers battered us. We watched on TV how dominating or how dangerous Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma were. But to see it from up close, anything that we did that day seemed to find the boundary. Any ball our bowlers bowled seemed to hit the middle of the bat and fly into the crowd. To get 160, 170 runs in nine odd overs was ridiculous. And almost like, we had to pinch ourselves to know what really happened."
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
