IPL 2022: KL Rahul's first reaction on leaving Punjab Kings; 'see you on the other side'

Indian sensational cricketer KL Rahul took to his official Koo account on Wednesday and put out his first response after opting to not get retained by Punjab Kings (PBKS) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. PBKS retained only Mayank Agarwal and un-capped Indian player Arshdeep Singh in the IPL 2022 retention, while Rahul is hopeful of getting picked by any of the two new IPL franchises, Ahmedabad and Lucknow, or join other players in the auction pool. Kl Rahul was touted as automatic retention by the Punjab-based franchise, but it is being understood that Rahul didn’t want to stay with the side in pursuit of better opportunities.

Expressing himself for the first time since deciding to exit Punjab Kings in his Koo post, the big-hitting Indian batter posted a picture of him with the caption, “It was a good ride, thank you for the love, see you on the other side." KL Rahul joined the Punjab outfit in the 2018 edition, after not being retained by his previous franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB). Since joining PBKS, he became one of the main pillars of the side as he consistently scored the maximum amount of runs for the team over the years.

KL Rahul could become the new skipper of RCB

Rahul scored a total of 626 runs in a total of 13 matches in 2021 at a strike rate of 138.80 which included a total of six half-centuries. He also scored an unbeaten knock of 98 runs in less than 50 balls against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in PBKS’ final league match. However, he opted to go back to the auction pool ahead of the mega auction. IPL fans meanwhile are speculating and hoping Rahul will be picked by his previous franchise, RCB, as Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy role of the Bangalore-based franchise following the 2021 season. 

Punjab Kings have INR 72 crores left in their purse for IPL 2020 mega auction

Meanwhile, having retained Mayank for INR 12 crores and Arshdeep for INR 4 crores, PBKS has spent eighteen crores of their allotted salary purse of INR 90 crores for the mega auction. This implies they will have a balance of INR 72 crores heading into the IPL 2022 mega auction, as they look to build their team around Mayank and Arshdeep going ahead in the future. Following Rahul’s exit, fans will be also interested in seeing, whom PBKS chose as their new skipper.

Image: iplt20.com/BCCI