Career Timeline of KL Rahul: Major Achievements and Milestones

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how KL Rahul made an impact.

Kannaur Lokesh Rahul, commonly known as KL Rahul, is an Indian international cricketer recognized as a right-handed wicket-keeper batter. He represents the Indian national team and also plays for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In domestic cricket, Rahul represents Karnataka. He is a prominent figure in Indian cricket known for his batting abilities across all formats of the game.

Sections (4)

Full Timeline Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles

1997: ODI Series Loss Against Sri Lanka

In 1997, KL Rahul made his comeback to the ODI team after injury against Sri Lanka, where he scored 31 and 0 in the first two ODIs. He was subsequently dropped from the final ODI, and India lost the series 2-0, which was their first bilateral loss against Sri Lanka since 1997.

2010: First-Class Debut and U-19 World Cup

In 2010, KL Rahul made his first-class cricket debut for Karnataka and represented his country at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

2013: IPL Debut

In 2013, KL Rahul made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

2013: Indian Premier League Debut

In 2013, Rahul made his debut in the Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

2014: Bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad

Ahead of the 2014 IPL, KL Rahul was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore.

2014: International Debut

In 2014, KL Rahul made his international debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

2014: Test Debut and Maiden Century

In 2014, Rahul made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He scored his maiden international century in the next test at Sydney, scoring 110 runs.

2014: Triple Century for Karnataka

In 2014, after returning from the Test series, Rahul became Karnataka's first triple-centurion, scoring 337 against Uttar Pradesh.

2014: Duleep Trophy Performance and Test Selection

In 2014, playing for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final, Rahul scored 185 and 130, earning him the player of the match award and selection to the Indian Test squad for the Australian tour.

July 2016: Squad for India Tour of West Indies

In July 2016, Rahul was named in the squad for India tour of West Indies. In the second series test, Rahul scored 158 runs.

2016: Returns to RCB

In 2016, KL Rahul returned to RCB and scored 397 runs from 14 matches. He was named as wicketkeeper in the ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

2016: ODI and T20I Debut against Zimbabwe, T20I Century against West Indies

In 2016, Rahul made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe, scoring an unbeaten 100, becoming the first Indian to score a century on ODI debut. He also made his T20I debut on the same tour. Later in 2016, during the tour of West Indies, he scored a T20I century of 110 off 51 balls.

2016: One-Day International Debut

In 2016, Rahul made his One-Day International debut against Zimbabwe, scoring his first century, making him the first Indian cricketer to score an ODI century on his debut. He also made his T20I debut on the same tour.

2016: Injury and Comeback in Test Series Against England

In 2016, Rahul was selected in the squad against England in the Test series but was injured while training. He returned for the fourth test but didn't make an impact. In the fifth test, he scored his career-best 199 runs.

July 2018: Second T20I International Ton Against England

On 3 July 2018, Rahul scored his second T20 International ton against England.

2018: Bought by Kings XI Punjab

In the 2018 IPL auction, KL Rahul was bought by Kings XI Punjab for INR 11 crore. He scored the fastest 50 in IPL history, reaching the milestone in 14 balls. He scored 659 runs in the season and was named in the Cricinfo and Cricbuzz IPL XI.

April 2019: Named in India's Squad for 2019 Cricket World Cup

In April 2019, KL Rahul was named in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

December 2019: Achievements in T20I and ODI Cricket Against West Indies and Sri Lanka

In December 2019, Rahul scored his 1,000th run in T20I cricket, achieved the Man of the Match award for his 91 against West Indies, and scored his 3rd ODI century against West Indies. He also scored 45 and 54 in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

December 2019: Captain of Kings XI Punjab

On 19 December 2019, KL Rahul was announced as captain of Kings XI Punjab for the 2020 season.

2019: Named Vice-Captain

In 2019, KL Rahul was named as vice-captain for KXIP. He scored his maiden IPL century, scoring 100 not out off 64 balls against Mumbai Indians. He scored 593 runs in the season.

2019: Man of the Series in T20I Against New Zealand

In 2019, during India's tour of New Zealand in 2019–20, Rahul was declared man of the series in the five-match T20I series for scoring 224 runs at an average of 56. Rahul was also the stand-in captain in the 5th T20I after Rohit Sharma suffered a hamstring injury during the 1st innings.

January 2020: Man of the Match Against Australia

In January 2020, Rahul made 80 (52) batting at number five in the second ODI against Australia and was rewarded as the man of the match.

September 2020: Scored 132* Against RCB

In September 2020, KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 132* against RCB, which was the most runs scored by an Indian batsman in an IPL match at the time. He won the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs in the season (670).

October 2020: Named Vice Captain for ODI and T20I series against Australia

In October 2020, KL Rahul was named as India's vice captain for the ODI and T20I series against Australia. He had a moderate series, making 77 in the second ODI and 51 in the first T20I.

February 2021: Missed Home Test Series Against England

In February 2021, Rahul missed the home Test series against England. He returned for the T20I and ODI series against England and returned to form in the ODI series scoring 62*.

September 2021: Named in Squad for ICC Men's T20 World Cup and Appointed Vice-Captain

In September 2021, Rahul was named in India's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where he became India's highest run-scorer with 194 runs. After Virat Kohli stepped down as T20I captain, Rahul was appointed the vice-captain of the team in T20Is and later as ODI vice-captain as well.

December 2021: Named Test Vice-Captain and ODI Captain for South Africa Series

In December 2021, Rahul was named as India's Test vice-captain for the away series against South Africa and also as the ODI captain due to injuries to Rohit Sharma. In the first test match against South Africa in December 2021, he scored 123 in India's first innings and 23 in India's second innings and was awarded the Man of the Match award.

2021: Retained as Captain

In 2021, KL Rahul was retained as the captain of Kings XI Punjab and scored 626 runs, finishing as the team's highest scorer in the season.

2021: Success in England Test Tour 2021

In 2021, during India's tour of England, Rahul was named to India's test squad. In the first test, Rahul scored 84 and 26. In the second Test at Lords, he scored 129 (250) and was awarded the man of the match. He was the second-highest run scorer for India in the tour behind Rohit Sharma.

January 2022: Test and ODI Captaincy Debut

In January 2022, Rahul captained India for the first time in Test cricket in the second test against South Africa, becoming the 34th Test captain of India. He also made his debut in ODI captaincy in the first ODI against South Africa, becoming the 26th ODI captain of India. India lost the series 3–0 to South Africa.

February 2022: 6000 International Runs and Hamstring Injury

In February 2022, during the second ODI of India against the West Indies, Rahul scored 49 and completed 6000 runs in international cricket across all formats. Rahul sustained an upper left hamstring strain during the same match and was ruled out of the next ODI and the T20Is series against the West Indies.

April 2022: Centuries for Lucknow Super Giants

In April 2022, KL Rahul scored his first century for Lucknow (103* off 60) against MI. He followed this up with another unbeaten century (103* off 62) against the same opponent eight days later. Rahul was the highest scorer for his team, scoring 616 runs with an average of 51.33 scoring 2 centuries in the season.

2022: Stand-in Captain During Asia Cup 2022

In 2022, Rahul was the stand-in captain for the team during the last match played by team India in the 2022 Asia Cup against Afghanistan.

2022: Drafted by Lucknow Super Giants

Prior to the 2022 season, KL Rahul was drafted by Lucknow Super Giants as their captain for INR 17 crore, making him the joint highest paid cricketer in the IPL alongside Virat Kohli.

February 2023: Removed from Test Vice-Captaincy

In February 2023, due to poor form, Rahul was removed from the Test vice-captaincy, with his spot in the team questioned.

December 2023: Test Century Against South Africa

In December 2023, during the first test match against South Africa, KL Rahul scored his 8th test century, scoring 101 runs. Despite his efforts, India lost the match.

2023: Ruled Out Due to Injury

During the 2023 season, KL Rahul was retained as the captain for Lucknow Super Giants. Unfortunately, he was ruled out of the tournament midway after sustaining an injury while fielding in a match against RCB.

2023: World Cup 2023 Campaign

In 2023, KL Rahul started his World Cup campaign with an unbeaten 97 against Australia. During the World Cup, he also scored the fastest century by an Indian batter, reaching the milestone in 62 deliveries against the Netherlands. In the final against Australia, Rahul scored 66 runs, but India lost the match.

2023: Return to Cricket in Asia Cup 2023

In 2023, Rahul made his return to cricket in Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan. Rahul scored an unbeaten century on his return, scoring 111 off 106 balls.

2023: England's tour of India

In 2023, Rahul scored 86 and 22 runs in the first test match of England's tour of India. Unfortunately, he had to miss the rest of the series due to an injury.

2023: Named in Squad for 2023 Cricket World Cup

In 2023, following a successful Asia Cup, Rahul was named in the squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup. Rahul was also named as the captain for first two ODIs for the series against Australia.

2023: Captain for ODI Series against South Africa

On November 30, 2023, KL Rahul was announced as the captain for the 3-match ODI series against South Africa, leading the team to a 2-1 series victory. Making him the second captain after Virat Kohli to win an ODI series in South Africa.

September 2024: Test Series Against Bangladesh

In September 2024, KL Rahul was included in the squad for the 2-match Test series against Bangladesh. He scored 68 runs off 62 balls in the second test, contributing to India's victory. He was later named in the Test squad against New Zealand, where he didn't perform well in the first test and was dropped for the remaining series.

2024: Dropped from T20 World Cup Squad

In 2024, KL Rahul was not selected for the T20 World Cup squad.

2024: IPL Season 2024

In the 2024 season, KL Rahul scored 520 runs at a strike rate of 136.13, including 4 half-centuries, but his team did not make it to the play-offs. The owner of Lucknow Super Giants publicly criticized Rahul after a loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

October 2025: International Centuries

As of October 2025, KL Rahul has scored 20 international centuries: 11 in Test cricket, 7 in One Day Internationals, and 2 in Twenty20 Internationals. He is the only Indian player to score a century on his ODI debut.

2025: Released and Bought by Delhi Capitals

In 2025, KL Rahul was released by the Lucknow Super Giants ahead of the IPL Mega Auction. He was then bought by Delhi Capitals for 14 crores in the 2025 IPL Mega Auction.

2025: Selection for England Series and Champions Trophy

In 2025, KL Rahul was selected for the ODI squad for the home series against England and the Champions Trophy. In the test series against England in June and July, he scored 532 runs at an average of 58.00, including 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries in 5 matches.