Here's why KL Rahul is not captaining LSG in IPL 2024 match against PBKS

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has witnessed several franchises undergo a change in leadership. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hardik Pandya have filled in for legendary captains MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma at Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively, albeit in contrasting circumstances. Shubman Gill, meanwhile, has filled the void at Gujarat Titans following Pandya’s high-profile exit.

Then there’s Pat Cummins who has replaced Aiden Markram at the Sunrisers Hyderabad after the latter was in charge for just one season. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are back as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) captains respectively after missing the entirety of the 2023 season.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) fans were in for a surprise on Saturday when West Indian wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran walked out at the toss along with Punjab Kings leader Shikhar Dhawan, making them wonder if LSG too were headed down that route this season.

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Pooran, however, clarified that Rahul was simply playing as an Impact Player for Lucknow’s first home game of the season keeping in mind his fitness and the fact that he’s just coming off an injury layoff.

“KL is coming back from injury and we’re looking to give him a break in such a long tournament, but he’ll play as an impact player today. Everyone must take the opportunitiesand perform at their best,” Pooran said after winning the toss and electing to field.

LSG, who began the season with a 20-run loss against Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring encounter in Jaipur, named Ashton Turner, Naveen-ul-Haq, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda and K Gowtham as their Impact substitutes for the match against PBKS. According to the commentators, Afghan pacer Naveen is likely to replace Rahul later in the match.

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The match against the Royals last weekend was Rahul’s first since the first Test against England in Hyderabad, in which he scored 86 and 22 as the Indian team ended up suffering a shock defeat at the hands of the Ben Stokes-led visitors.

Rahul would miss the next four Tests due to a quadricep injury that got aggravated in the Hyderabad Test, and would return to action with a 44-ball 58 against the Royals on Sunday.