KL Rahul Launches Indirect Attack At LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka: 'Hard To Explain To People...'

KL Rahul had an ordinary outing in the IPL during his three-year stay at the Lucknow Super Giants, having served as their captain as well from 2022 to 2024. While Rahul failed to achieve much success as a leader, he was even publicly criticised by LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka after a match in IPL 2024.

Several clips of Goenka losing his cool at Rahul went viral on the internet after LSG suffered a humiliating defeat by 10 wickets against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Amid the speculations, Rahul was not retained by LSG ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction despite him being their highest run-getter in IPL 2024.

Rahul, who has captained India in all three formats of the game as well, never publicly spoke about his relationship with the LSG owner. However, in a recent interview with sports broadcaster and commentator Jatin Sapru, he has opened up about the challenges of leading a side in the IPL. He didn’t call out Goenka's name but indirectly slammed him for asking for explanations about the team’s losses.

ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah Clears Air With Temba Bavuma After 'Bauna' Remark In Eden Gardens

"What I found hard as a captain in the IPL was the number of meetings that you needed to do, the number of reviews that you needed to do, and the number of things that you needed to explain at the ownership level. All of that is really like energy draining. So I realised at the end of IPL that I am more mentally and physically drained than after playing 10 months of international cricket," Rahul told Sapru.

ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir Turns Down Pitch Talks After India's Defeat At Eden Gardens

"There are so many things. Coaches, captains, you’re just constantly being asked a lot of questions, and after a point, it almost feels like you’re being questioned as to why you made this change. Why did Jatin play in the XI? Why is it that the opposition got 200, and we couldn’t even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting more spin?"

"I mean, these are questions that we never get asked throughout the year, right? Because the coaches who are there know what’s going on. You’re only answerable to the coach and the selectors, who’ve all played cricket and understand the nuances of cricket and sport. No matter what you do and how many boxes you tick, there’s nothing in sport that guarantees victory. So that’s the hard part to explain to people who come from a non-sporting background," he added.

Rahul has represented five times in the Indian Premier League. He currently plays for the Delhi Capitals after he was bought by the franchise for a whopping price of Rs 14 crore.