Lucknow Super Giants continued their winning march in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign, beating Gujarat Titans to win their third game on the trot on Sunday. While the win takes LSG to as high as third spot on the points table, with 3 wins in 4 matches, the form of their skipper KL Rahul has left many concerned. After LSG’s win against GT, the franchise seemed to have attempted to troll their skipper Rahul itself, in a video that has left fans in splits.
In the video, a member of LSG’s staff could be heard telling Rahul that he should be the ‘ next Defence Minister of India’. Upon hearing this Rahul said: “Are you trolling my strike-rate too?”
The staff member than clarified saying, he called him so as LSG have continued their streak of defending totals over 160 runs. Here’s the video:
For the unversed, it was the 13th occasion that the Super Giants have managed to defend their total of 160 or more in IPL history.
Though the video might have been a joke, Rahul’s strike-rate and intent has been under the scanner for some time and his recent performances have done him no good.
Having played four IPL matches so far, KL has scored only 126 runs at an average of 31.50, with an underwhelming strike rate of 128.57. He has scored a half-century, a knock of 58 in 44 balls against RR, but has otherwise registered scores of 15 in nine balls, 20 in 14 balls and 33.
The wicketkeeper-batter has been disappointing with the bat in the IPL since the 2023 edition, a season which was cut short by an injury. In the 2023 IPL, KL scored 274 runs in nine matches at an average of 34.25 and a sub-par strike rate of 113.22, with two half-centuries and best score of 74.
Overall since IPL 2023, KL has featured in 13 matches for LSG, scoring 400 runs at an average of 33.33, with a strike rate of just over 117. He has scored three fifties, with the best score of 74. Though other numbers still seem fine, his strike rate looks really ordinary for a format that requires openers to hit big from ball one.
Of 57 players who have faced atleast 150 balls across the last two IPLs, KL is the only batter with a strike rate of below 120.
