 "KL Rahul joins Delhi Capitals, presumably as their captain, after leading Lucknow Super Giants for three seasons. PTI")
KL Rahul has told the Delhi Capitals he wants “love and respect” from his new franchise after spending three seasons with the Lucknow Super Giants . DC co-owner Parth Jindal made the revelation four days after the franchise acquired the senior Indian wicketkeepeer-batter for Rs 14 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction that had taken place in Jeddah.
“So he (Rahul) was like, ‘I just want to play cricket. I just want to get the love and support from the franchise. I just want to get the respect and I know Parth from you, I will get that. I just can’t be more excited to play for a friend and make Delhi win. I have never won (IPL). Delhi has never won. Let’s do it together’,” Jindal told ESPNCricinfo after the auction.
Jindal also commented on his Bengaluru connection with Rahul and how he’s well-acquainted with his wife Athiya, daughter of Bollywood veteran Suniel Shetty.
“He’s very happy, very excited to be part of Delhi. He has known me for a long time. He’s a Bangalore (Bengaluru) boy. I own Bengaluru FC (in the Indian Super League), so he’s watched a few games with me. I know his wife Athiya (Shetty) really well. She’s been a close family friend growing up in Mumbai,” Jindal added.
Rahul was widely expected to part ways with LSG after a clip that showed team owner Sanjiv Goenka publicly rebuking him following a lopsided defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Lucknow. While he had led LSG to the playoffs in the first two seasons, the team would finish a disappointing seventh in the 10-team table earlier this year.
DC too were in search of a captain after parting ways with Rishabh Pant, who became the most expensive player in IPL history after being acquired by LSG for a whopping Rs 27 crore on Day 1 of the mega auction in Jeddah.
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Pant’s price narrowly surpassed the Rs 26.75 crore Punjab Kings had paid to secure the services of Shreyas Iyer , who wasn’t retained by defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) despite leading them to their third title earlier this year.
Rahul too was expected to fetch a price in the 20-crore club, only to be acquired by the Capitals at what many describe is a steal – although his strike rate might have had something to do with franchises not bidding as fiercely for him as they did for Pant, Shreyas and Venkatesh Iyer.