KL Rahul’s participation in the RANJI Trophy has been confirmed, as he was scheduled to play for Karnataka against …
India’s veteran cricketer KL Rahul is all set to mark his return to the Ranji Trophy after almost a decade. Rahul will feature in Karnataka’s next Ranji match against Haryana scheduled to begin on January 30, according to TOI.
Rahul was earlier scheduled to play Karnataka’s match against Punjab but pulled out of the match due to an elbow injury. However, he confirmed his availability for the next match against Haryana which will also be his last home match before the Champions Trophy.
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KL Rahul is back to play Ranji Trophy for Karnataka
Experienced India batter KL Rahul is scheduled to play for Karnataka in the next Ranji Trophy match from January 30 #Ranjitrophy2025
– Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravg) January 25, 2025
Rahul’s previous Ranji match was in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh when he scored a triple-run and also emerged as the man of the match. He registered scores of 337 and 43 in both the innings of the match.
Rahul’s return will boost Karnataka’s chances of making it to the next round of the Ranji Trophy. It will also be their last match of the group stage before the important knockouts begin.
Karnataka is currently second in the points table with 19 points from six matches. So far they have two straight wins in six matches and are behind Haryana who are at the top with 20 points to their name.
Karnataka will be high on confidence after their recent win over Punjab. Despite a hundred from Shubman Gill, they bowled out Punjab by a huge margin of an innings and 207 runs. The win boosted their chances of making it to the knockouts and they will aim to go there with confidence.
KL Rahul in BGT 2024-25
KL Rahul was in the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he played as an opener. Rahul started the series well but failed to deliver consistent performances throughout the series
Indian captain Rohit Sharma gave up the opening position to accommodate Rahul at the top. However, he failed to score a significant result in the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Overall, he scored 276 runs in five Tests at an average of 30.66 with 2 fifties.
KL Rahul in Indian squad for Champions Trophy
Meanwhile, KL Rahul is also part of the Indian squad for the ODI series against England which is scheduled to start from February 6. The series will be important for the Trophy 2025 champions as the players will look to prepare for the marquee tournament.
There were doubts about Rahul’s inclusion in the ODI squad, but the selectors decided to trust his batting and middle-order skills. Rahul is likely to be India’s first choice keeper in the tournament with Rishabh Pant the second Wicketeker in the team.
Rahul has a fantastic ODI record as he has scored 2851 runs in 77 matches at a brilliant average of 49.15 and a strike rate of 87.56. Over the last few years, he has changed his role to middle-order batter and made the spot his own.
