IPL 2025: Would be nice to be back at RCB, admits KL Rahul

KL Rahul will be a hot commodity at the IPL 2025 mega auction later this month after being released by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Rahul spent four seasons at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) between 2013 and 2016. As someone who represented Karnataka, playing for RCB would have been like playing in front of his home fans, which he says he wants to experience again.

"I most enjoyed playing at RCB. It's also home," he said on Star Sports.

"You get to spend a lot of time at home, and I know the Chinnaswamy [Stadium] really well. I've grown up playing on that ground. So yeah, I really enjoyed my time in RCB."

"It's kind of home and the people there know me as a local Kannada boy, and it would be nice to go back there and get an opportunity again. But yeah, it's an auction year, so you can go anywhere."

More importantly, Rahul is keen on starting fresh after spending three seasons at LSG, two of which he led the franchise to the playoffs

"I just felt like I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom and the team atmosphere would be something much more balanced," he said.

"The pressure is already there in the IPL, it's so high. You see teams like Gujarat [Titans] and CSK [Chennai Super Kings] and all of these teams, and you see, when they win or lose, they seem really balanced, and the dressing room is really calm. That's something that's very important for me as a player. I feel like if that happens, it gives all the players the best chance to perform.

"We tried that at LSG with Andy Flower [head coach] and GG [Gautam Gambhir, mentor] first, and then last year with [new head coach, Justin] Langer, we tried to create that in the change room. I think it was a brilliant atmosphere in the change room. I think sometimes you just need to move away and find something good for yourself."

Despite not making it to the playoffs last season, Rahul ended IPL 2024 with 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.12. LSG finished a disappointing seventh with just seben wins, despite winning three of their first four games.  Rahul hints at external pressure being the main reason for the downfall.

"There's always ups and downs," he said. 

"You need to be able to hold your nerves and keep putting up good performances after good performances. All the travel, all the drama outside, the pressure - all of it is there every year. But somehow, this season, it felt like there was a lot more and somehow, I think that affected the team, and we couldn't put in performances when it really mattered."

Is Rahul keen to captain his next IPL team? Th 32-year-old believes does not feel that it is that important. "I would never go and ask someone for it, Rahul said.

"If you feel that my leadership skills are good enough, and you find something good in the way I play my cricket and in the way I handle myself, the way that I handle the team that I've captained in the last four to five years, and if you find it worthy, then, of course, I'm happy to do it.

"But it's not something that is a make or break for me. I just want to be part of a team that has a good environment. You feel loved, cared for and respected in that environment, and everyone on that franchise has one single goal to win the idea. There, then, that's a perfect fit."

The IPL mega auction will be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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