KL Rahul: biography, stats & profile

KL Rahul is an Indian WK-Batsman who bats right-handed. He was born on 18 April 1992, grew up in Surathkal, Mangalore, and plays domestic cricket for Karnataka. In the IPL he has turned out for five franchises, most recently Delhi Capitals.

He has captained India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. In October 2026 he went past 10,000 international runs.

Early life and domestic career

Rahul was part of India’s squad for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup and made his first-class debut later that year, in a match played at Mohali from 10 to 13 November 2010.

His breakthrough season was 2013-14. He scored over 1,000 runs in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy-winning campaign and was Player of the Match in the final. In February 2026 he struck 130 off 182 balls, his 24th first-class hundred, as Karnataka beat Mumbai in a Ranji Trophy quarter-final.

International career

Rahul made his Test debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on 26 December 2014. In 2016 he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe and scored a century, making him the first and only Indian to do so on ODI debut. His T20I debut came against Zimbabwe at Harare on 18 June 2016, where he was out for a golden duck.

Also in 2016, he made 199 against England in Chennai, an innings noted for its decisive footwork and confident reverse-sweeping. Ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup he was named captain for the first two ODIs of the series against Australia.

On 3 October 2026 he reached 10,000 international runs with an unbeaten 129 in the third ODI against West Indies at New Chandigarh, becoming the 15th Indian batter to do so.

IPL

Rahul has played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals. Delhi Capitals bought him at the 2025 auction for INR 14 crore.

In IPL 2026 he scored 593 runs at a strike rate of 174.41 and led Delhi Capitals’ batting, although the team finished sixth.

Career stats at a glance

In Tests, Rahul has played 65 matches and scored 3985 runs at an average of 36.56, with a highest score of 199. In ODIs he has 3081 runs from 86 matches at an average of 48.9.

In T20Is he has made 2265 runs in 72 matches at 37.75, with a strike rate of 139.13. In the IPL he has scored 5222 runs in 145 matches at an average of 46.21, including four hundreds.

By MaidanBeat Desk · updated 27 Oct 2026