Breaking News: IPL 2024: KL Rahul to step down from captaincy after the defeat against SRH

KL Rahul's status as the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants is in doubt for the next two games following the team's devastating defeat at home by Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. The LSG captain, who signed a contract before the 2022 auction for a then-record Rs 17 crore, might not be retained before the 2025 mega auctions. There is talk, that the captain may decide to step down on his own and focus only on batting in the next two matches.

After Sunrisers Hyderabad openers Travis Head (89 not out off 30 balls) and Abhishek Sharma (75 off 28 balls) chased the target of 167 in less than 10 overs, videos of LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka's heated chat with Rahul surfaced on social media.

According to some sources, it is believed that KL Rahul might step down from the captaincy as he just wants to focus on his captaincy. An IPL source stated, “There is a five-day gap before the next game against DC. As of now, no decision has been taken but it is understood that if Rahul plans to just concentrate on his batting for the remaining two games, the management won’t mind.”

LSG’s skipper KL Rahul has scored 460 runs in 12 matches of IPL 2024 with an average of 38.33, smashing 3 half-centuries. The team LSG is at 6th position in the points table with 12 points. They are still in the race if they win their final two games, which are against the Delhi Capitals at New Delhi on May 14 and the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on May 17. 

In case KL Rahul steps down from the captaincy then LSG’s vice-captain Nicholas Pooran, who has been the team's strongest batsman this season, is expected to take over for the next two games if Rahul decides to step aside.