KL Rahul’s exit from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) before the IPL 2025 mega auction was followed by words from LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka as he stated that he favors players who put the success of the team above that of their individual achievements. But hardly a few days after Delhi Capitals (DC) snapped him up for INR 14 crore, the franchise’s co-owner Parth Jindal came back with a statement saying Rahul would be given “all the love and respect he deserves.” It has been construed more than likely as a veiled taunt on Rahul’s exit from LSG.
“He Thrives With Love And Respect”: Jindal On KL Rahul
“I have known KL (Rahul) personally for a long time and he is a good friend of mine. He thrives with love and respect and I am going to give him the love and respect he deserves,” said Jindal, in an interview to RevSportz
“I believe a class player is always a class player… I hope he thrives in our atmosphere and does it for Delhi, wins an IPL,” Jindal further said.
Rahul has led LSG for three seasons. He left the team after the franchise failed to reach the playoffs in the season 2024 IPL. LSG owner was also seen getting in a heated argument with Rahul following a crushing defeat by SRH.
Auction Strategy Of Delhi Capitals
While honest confession time from Jindal, revealing that Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer were two of the top players at the auction table for the franchise. But after missing those two, the franchise focused on Rahul as their best acquisition.
“When we were discussing our auction strategy, the first lot was Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. Obviously, we thought that if we can get one of those players, one of them being the Indian marquee batter, then we will not have the budget for KL. But we lost both and went to the auction knowing that we might lose both because Punjab, LSG or RCB had more money than us. Then, who is the next-best batter? KL Rahul was right up there,” Jindal said.
