Has KL Rahul Indirectly Targeted Sanjiv Goenka?

KL Rahul might have targeted Lucknow Super Giants owner once again. Recently, Rahul was present in an interview with the famous sports analyst Jatin Sapru. There, he talked about how much he hated being the captain of any team in the IPL.

KL Rahul has now started to make some rapid strides in the IPL. He was able to do well for the Delhi Capitals in the last season, due to which he has also been retained. Recently, KL Rahul was also present in an interview with Jatin Sapru, where they were able to discuss a number of things

At the same time, Sapru also wanted to know why Rahul was not the captain of an IPL team anymore. He reacted to this question in such a way that it might have acted as an indirect dig to Sanjiv Goenka. The LSG owner had a verbal spat with Rahul in IPL 2024, following which he was also released by the team.

1. KL Rahul's Words

KL Rahul and Jatin Sapru were talking about the probability of winning in any sports event. He said that there is no guarantee to secure a win, and this can be known to every individual who comes from a sporting background. But explaining the same thing to someone who doesn't have a sporting background is difficult.

He , “What I found hard as a captain in the IPL was the number of meetings that you needed to do, the number of reviews that you needed to do, and the number of things that you needed to explain at the ownership level. All of that is really like energy draining. So I realised at the end of IPL that I am more mentally and physically drained than after playing 10 months of international cricket.”

Continuing it, , “There are so many things. Coaches, captains, you’re just constantly being asked a lot of questions, and after a point, it almost feels like you’re being questioned as to why did you made this change. Why did Jatin play in the XI? Why is it that the opposition got 200 and we couldn’t even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting more spin?”

Rahul ended by saying, “I mean, these are questions that we never get asked through the year, right? Because the coaches who are there know what’s going on. You’re only answerable to the coach and the selectors who’ve all played cricket and understand the nuances of cricket and sport. No matter what you do and how many boxes you tick, there’s nothing in sport that guarantees victory. So that’s the hard part to explain to people who come from a non-sporting background.”

2. Sanjiv Goenka’s Incident

Taking a look at the words which have been said by KL Rahul, it seems that he has targeted Sanjiv Goenka. KL Rahul was earlier a part of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, and even led the team from 2022 to 2024. But there was a serious argument between Sanjiv Goenka and KL Rahul during a game.

And this all started when the team went against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Lucknow was batting first in this game, and they were also able to post down a good total of 165 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. This total seemed to be good, considering the pitch conditions, but the LSG bowlers didn't know how they were about to suffer next.

Sunrisers Hyderabad was able to chase down the total in just 9.4 overs. To make things even worse for Lucknow Super Giants and KL Rahul, Sunrisers Hyderabad was able to chase it without losing a single wicket. Following this, the whole team was disappointed but not more than their owner, Sanjiv Goenka.

Several videos have also gone viral over the internet, where Goenka was seen lashing out on KL Rahul. This video sparked a controversy, as the fans were also disappointed watching a player listening to his owner badly after the team's loss. That was also KL Rahul's last season for Lucknow Super Giants.

3. Rahul's Response

KL Rahul must have waited to give his reply to Sanjiv Goenka for the disrespect he faced on national television. He was even released by Lucknow Super Giants but Delhi Capitals bought him in the IPL Mega Auction. And he waited for Delhi and Lucknow to clash against each other.

This happened in the 40th match of the tournament, which was played at Ekana Stadium. Lucknow Super Giants scored just 156 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. And while chasing the target, KL Rahul ended up scoring 57 runs off 42 balls and remained not out to help Delhi Capitals

After the win, players from both teams started to greet each other. Sanjiv Goenka also approached KL Rahul and shook hands with him. But at that time, Rahul decided to quickly shake hands with Goenka and walk away, taking the perfect revenge he could for the disrespect he faced last season.