India wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul opened up on his recent exit from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said that he wanted to start fresh in the T20 tournament.
In October, the Lucknow-based franchise announced that they have retained Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi alongside uncapped stars Mohsin Khan and Ayush Badoni ahead of IPL 2025.
Speaking on a Star Sports promo, KL Rahul said that he wanted to explore his options in the cash-rich tournament and find a place where he could find some freedom.
"I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom, where the team atmosphere could be something lighter. Sometimes you need to move away and find something good for yourself," KL Rahul said.
The wicketkeeper-batter added that he is looking forward to performing in the upcoming season of the IPL and making a return to the T20I squad of Team India.
"I have been out of the T20 team for a while and I know where I stand as a player and I know what I need to do to get back, so I'll look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform where I can go back and enjoy my cricket and my aim is to obviously get back into the Indian T20 team," he added.
KL Rahul's stint with LSG saw him play 14 matches in the IPL 2024 season, where he scored 520 runs at an average of 37.14. However, his strike rate of 136.13 faced considerable criticism, with many arguing that his approach often hampered the team's overall performance. Over his three seasons with LSG, Rahul participated in 38 matches, amassing over 1,200 runs, though his style remained a topic of debate.
Meanwhile, the former LSG skipper has been listed for a base price of Rs 2 crore in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega-auction.
