KL Rahul has been with DC since IPL 2025 | PC- AFP
In what comes as a shocking development, KL Rahul might leave his current IPL home, Delhi Capitals (DC), for the three-time champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as his new franchise.
The wicketkeeper joined the Capitals two years back, after his infamous spat with LSG, which led to a massive pay cut as he switched his base from Lucknow to Delhi. However, it seems that Rahul’s relationship with the DC management has also taken a massive hit.
DC in talks with KKR for KL Rahul trade
According to Sportstak, DC are in talks with KKR to trade KL Rahul to the three-time champions, as the player-franchise relationship has taken a massive hit after Delhi acquired Rishabh Pant from LSG in a trade.
The 34-year-old is an integral part of the Indian Test and ODI setups, but he has been out of the T20I team since India’s disastrous ten-wicket defeat against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal at Adelaide. However, KL Rahul is still hoping for a T20I comeback along with captaincy aspirations, as per the report.
"Amidst Hardik Pandya-KKR trade talks, Kolkata get another offer, this time for KL Rahul, who is currently with Delhi Capitals. One shouldn’t forget that Rishabh Pant has returned to Delhi, and he too is a wicketkeeper," the report stated.
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"KL Rahul still has aspirations to make a T20I comeback; thus, he wants to keep wickets. KKR, meanwhile, always have had foreign keepers, although Angkrish Raghuvanshi kept wickets last season. Meanwhile, KL Rahul brings that dimension with him, along with the captaincy."
Furthermore, it is also reported that the ace keeper also had a spat with the DC management, which is even bigger than the one he had at LSG.
"He has faced multiple issues with DC. It can’t be disclosed much, but this one is even bigger than the one he had at LSG,” it added.
KL Rahul faces new challenge with Rishabh Pant's DC comeback
After the IPL 2026 season, where DC finished in sixth place, the franchise traded Rishabh Pant for Kuldeep Yadav in what was deemed the mother of all IPL trades at the time.
Pant, although a middle-order batter, is expected to don the gloves ahead of the opener KL Rahul from next season. While Rahul’s spot in DC remains secure, a return to the Indian T20I side will require him to prove his value as a complete wicketkeeper-batter.
That said, both Pant and Rahul remain sidelined from the Indian T20I side, with Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson currently favoured for the keeping role.
Can KL Rahul get back into India T20I team?
KL Rahul, with 5815 IPL runs, is among the all-time top chart-breakers of the lucrative league. Throughout his 13-year career, he has shown unmatched consistency, scoring a truckload of runs season after season.
Last season, he finished with 593 runs at 45.61 with an incredible strike rate of 174.41 - which was the highest for KL Rahul in any IPL season.
The stylish batter would need to take his batting to the next level in terms of explosiveness to even get in contention for an India comeback in the shortest format.
However, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan transforming India’s top-order approach, breaking back into the Indian side will be an even greater challenge for Rahul.
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