Unknown facts about India cricketer KL Rahul

KL Rahul has turned around his career in a dramatic fashion over the last few months. After being dropped from the Test team following a string of low scores, the Karnataka player has proved his worth in the limited-overs formats. He is being tipped as the first-choice opener ahead of Shikhar Dhawan for the upcoming T20 World Cup as well after the way he played in the home season and New Zealand tour in the shortest format.

Moreover, Rahul has donned the wicketkeeping gloves as well making it almost impossible making it impossible for the management to drop him. He is now batting at number five in the ODIs as well as India have decided to give him more chances in the middle-order. Meanwhile, as Rahul has finally started blossoming at the international level, let us know more about him closely.

Here are some unknown facts about KL Rahul:

KL Rahul holds the record for the fastest 50 in IPL history

Indian opener KL Rahul scored a blazing half century of just 14 balls in the IPL against Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 edition. The blitzkrieg included six fours and four sixes. He still holds the record for the fastest 50 in the history of the competition

1000 run season in domestic cricket:

KL Rahul played in the 2013 season of Red Bull Campus Cricket and ended up as its top run-getter. He also made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a wicket-keeper batsman during the 2013 competition. Later in the same year, he scored 1033 runs in the domestic season to power Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy title. These exploits earned him a place in India’s Test side for the tour of Australia in 2014, and he has been a regular player for the national side across all formats since.

Born in Mangalore:

KL Rahul and Rahul Dravid have a quite a lot in common including their name and batting technique, however only a few people know that he does not share the same hometown like his old, KL Rahul hails from Mangalore and not Bangalore.

Only the third Indian to score 100s in all 3 formats in international cricket:

KL Rahul is one of the few Indian batsmen to score a hundred in all three formats. Only Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma can boast of this feat with the Indian opener. This is one record which even Virat Kohli has not achieved yet.

Twin hundreds in Duleep Trophy final in 2013:

KL Rahul had shown his worth in the longest format in 2014 itself during the Duleep Trophy final playing for South Zone. He smashed two centuries in two innings of the match scoring 185 in the first innings and 130 in the second. Unfortunately, despite his herculean efforts, South Zone lost the match by nine runs.

Addicted to Tattoos:

Just like his Indian skipper, KL Rahul is addicted to tattoos. He has 7 tattoos with each one having a significant meaning. While his dedicated fans know the story behind some of his pieces, much of the art he has on his skin has been a mystery.

Leading India to U23 to victory:

Rahul was picked in the Indian team to play the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore in August 2013. All the major teams sent their under-23 squads for this event. In that tournament, Rahul recorded scores of 46, 88, 51, 43 and 93 not out. The unbeaten 93 came against Pakistan under-23 in the final as his knock helped India chase down a target of 160 with ease.

Impressing Dale Steyn at an early age:

KL Rahul managed the attention of Dale Steyn while he was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Steyn even went on to make a bold prediction that KL will one day play for India under MS Dhoni and so he did.

Developing into India’s crisis man:

Just like his idol Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul is becoming Team India’s crisis man. In the last one year, he has batted at various positions and recently is also keeping wickets ahead of designated wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant

Breaks Virat Kohli’s record:

KL Rahul on Sunday (2^nd Feb 2020) broke captain Virat Kohli’s record to become the Indian batsman with most runs in a bilateral T20I series. The wicketkeeper-batsman achieved the feat during India’s fifth and final T20I match against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.

Other Unknown Facts about KL Rahul:

Favourite Cuisine – Japanese

Favourite Music – Coldplay & EDM

Favourite Holiday Destination – Greece

Favourite Colour – Black & White