Delhi Capitals batsman KL Rahul recently said that he is indeed achieving a milestone in his career. Over the years, Rahul has been criticized for his slow approach in the limited overs format, where he was accused of playing for his fifty or century rather than prioritizing the needs of the team.
This ultimately led to Rahul being dropped from the Indian T20I setup in 2022, and he has not played a T20I since, although he remains the first-choice player in both Tests and ODIs.
At the end of the decade, Rahul took a turn in his IPL career by scoring 600 or more runs in three consecutive IPL seasons (2020, 2021 and 2022). This has ensured that he continues to progress and score runs in his IPL career.
The only milestone I want to catch is that of MS Dhoni- KL Rahul
Speaking to Star Sports on the eve of Delhi Capitals’ match against Punjab Kings, Rahul was asked about his steady rise to the list of highest run-scorers in IPL history.
Rahul was the sixth-highest run-scorer in IPL history with 5,427 runs and needed just 13 runs to surpass MS Dhoni’s tally. After this Rahul would have reached number 5. KL Rahul was asked whether he keeps track of such records in his mind or not. “NOh, not really. The only milestone I want MS Dhoni to reach is winning 5 trophies,” he replied.
MS Dhoni has been unable to add to this run tally in IPL 2026 as he sits out all 7 CSK matches while recovering from a calf muscle strain. Rahul has scored 205 runs in 6 matches with two half-centuries and a strike rate of 166.67.
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KL Rahul’s IPL career
Rahul first made his IPL debut in 2014 as part of Sunrisers Hyderabad. After two seasons with the Orange Army, he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016 when the team finished runners-up.
In 2018, he moved to Punjab Kings and was appointed their captain in 2020. In the same year he also won the Orange Cap. Rahul also captained Punjab in 2021, but he left that franchise the next year.
In 2022, Rahul joined the newly formed Lucknow Supergiants and became their first captain. He remained the team captain until 2024 before unceremoniously exiting the franchise.
Next match of Delhi Capitals
In 2025, he joined Delhi Capitals, the team he will also represent in 2026. Overall, KL Rahul has never been a part of an IPL winning team. MS Dhoni was the captain of Chennai Super Kings in all five seasons when they won the trophy.
KL Rahul and DC host Punjab Kings in the afternoon match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, April 25. Rahul is expected to play a key role in Delhi’s batting line-up and will be expected to lead the way.
