'We are going to have a blast,' KL Rahul talks about how Virat Kohli received him when he joined RCB
KL Rahul joined Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016. He went on to become one of their most important batsmen in the team after scoring consecutive 50s in the 2016 season.
KL Rahul is one of the key players in Kings XI Punjab’s squad. The Punjab-outfit is heavily depending on Rahul’s consistency at the top of the order to propel them to glory this year. Kings XI have invested heavily in the top-order batsman after spending a mammoth Rs 11 crore to bring him to the PCA Stadium in Mohali from Royal Challengers Bangalore last year. Rahul justified their investment as he smashed 659 runs at a strike rate of 158.4 last season.
However, Kings XI failed to qualify for the playoffs due to a massive drop in form during the latter stages of the season where they won just one match in their last 7 matches. But this time, they would again be banking on Rahul to turn in another great season as they look for their maiden IPL crown.
What triggered Kings XI Punjab to splash the cash on Rahul last year was his performances with RCB. After getting transferred from Hyderabad, Rahul scored 397 runs in the 2016 season at an average of 44.1 and a strike rate of 146.49 for RCB. Rahul talked about how he was received in the RCB squad when he signed with them in 2016.
"The day when I went to sign my RCB contract papers is my next great memory. I thought it would just me signing the papers with some manager," Rahul told Redbull.
"But I remember I walked into the room and there was a full team meeting with the directors; Virat Kohli was also sitting there. I walked into the room like I was the coolest person there but suddenly I saw everyone and thought, "What have I walked into?" The contract is about 20-30 pages so it took me a while to go through it.
"After that Virat came to me, put an arm around my shoulder and said, 'Welcome to the team. We are going to have a blast.' That was a big moment for me and also the start of my first IPL season so I think of all the cricketers I played with then; Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Zaheer Khan, and everyone else. Just getting to hang out with all of them is what I remember fondly.
RCB would rue their missed chance to sign Rahul. After he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab, RCB had Right To Match card but decided not to use it on the opener. And Rahul proved it was a costly mistake for them as he was the third highest run-getter in the league.
"Last year was also very special individually. I played for Punjab and got over 600 runs in the season. I also got the record for the fastest 50 in the IPL last season," he said.
