KL Rahul Biography – Career, Stats, Records & Achievements

KL Rahul is an Indian international cricketer who represents the Indian cricket team in all three formats (Test, ODI, T20) as a wicketkeeper and right-handed batsman.

KL Rahul is known for his stylish stroke play and versatile batting across formats. He plays both as a top-order batsman and as a wicketkeeper. According to the team’s requirements, he can adapt his batting position as an opener, middle-order, or finisher batsman.

He is the only Indian cricketer to have scored a century on ODI debut.

Currently, KL Rahul represents the Indian team in international cricket, the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, and the Karnataka team in domestic cricket.

Early Life

KL Rahul was born on 18 April 1992 in Bangalore. His full name is Kannaur Lokesh Rahul.

His father, K. N. Lokesh, is a professor and former director at NITK, and his mother, Rajeshwari, is a professor at Mangalore University.

KL Rahul grew up in Mangalore. He studied at NITK English Medium School and St Aloysius College. He began his cricket training at the age of 10 at St Aloysius Cricket Academy in Mangalore. Rahul also played club cricket for the Bangalore United Cricket Club and a local club in Mangalore. Later, he moved to Bangalore at the age of 18 for higher education at Jain University and also to improve his cricket skills.

Despite having a strong academic background, KL Rahul chose to build his cricket career.

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Domestic Career

KL Rahul began his domestic career by playing for the Karnataka team. He made a huge impact as a top-order batsman there, and later, with his performance, he got selected for the IPL and the Indian national team.

Rahul made his first-class debut for Karnataka at just 18 years during the 2010-11 season of the Ranji Trophy. He also represented India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup.

In the 2013-14 season of the Ranji Trophy, Rahul delivered an outstanding performance he scored 1,033 first-class runs that season.

Rahul also played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (List A) and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20s) for the Karnataka team and helped them to win multiple domestic titles.

International Career

KL Rahul made his international debut for India on 26th December 2014 in a Test match against Australia at Melbourne. In his debut match, he didn’t perform well, but in the next match, he scored his maiden Test century at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Later, on 11 June 2016, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe and scored a century on debut. He was the first Indian cricketer to score a century on ODI debut.

On 18th June 2016, he made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe; in the same year, he scored the impressive T20I century (110) against West Indies in Lauderhill and was marked as one of the consistent performers in all formats.

He also led the Indian cricket team as a captain and vice-captain in various formats.

IPL Carrer

KL Rahul began his IPL career in 2013 with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Until 2016, he was part of the RCB team, but in 2017, he was released by RCB. Later, in 2018, he joined Kings XI Punjab and, in the same year, smashed a record-breaking fastest 14-ball fifty against Delhi Daredevils. In that season, he scored 659 runs and established himself as one of the most successful top-order batsmen.

In 2020, he was appointed as the captain of the Punjab Kings. He performed exceptionally well that season, scoring 670 runs and finishing as one of the top players in the Orange Cap list.

In 2022, he moved to the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as captain and continued to perform well until 2024. However, in 2025, he was released by LSG.

In the IPL 2025 Mega Auction, he was picked by Delhi Capitals for ₹14 crore, making him DC’s most expensive pick in the 2025 auction.

Batting Career Summary