After enduring a staggering 10-wicket defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad last week, a video from the animated discussion between Rahul and Goenka took over social media. After the conversation between the two became public, reports surfaced about Rahul leaving the franchise next season. In the latest update, a video posted by LSG’s social media does not feature KL Rahul with his team in New Delhi for the clash against the Delhi Capitals.
It is still unclear whether Rahul will join the team on match day (May 14) but as of now there is no official confirmation that he has travelled with the team for the match against Delhi Capitals. (IPL 2024: How Both CSK And RCB Can Qualify For Playoffs)
Lucknow Super Giants assistant coach Lance Klusener beleives animated conversation between skipper KL Rahul and franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka was a “robust discussion” between “two cricket lovers”. Klusener ruled out a possible dispute between the two and claimed that it is not a “big thing” for LSG.
“I see no problem in a robust discussion between two cricket lovers. For us, it is a storm in a tea cup. It’s not a big thing for us,” LSG assistant coach Klusener said in the pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of their clash against DC on Tuesday.
This season, Rahul struggled to muster up runs at a quick pace under his belt in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The experienced wicketkeeper batter has 460 runs to his name in 12 matches at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 136.09. (IPL 2024: Huge Blow For RCB As Will Jacks, Reece Topley Leave Camp For England)
Despite his struggles to play those quick-fire knocks in the opening phase of the game, Klusener feels that according to him Rahul has proved that he is a quality player and hasn’t played badly this season.
“It is a long competition, it has been documented that very few batters have gone through 15 or 16 games playing better at some stages than others KL has proved that he is quality and I don’t think he has played bad at all at the moment. I think we have so much high expectations from him and I think he is a game away from blowing open for us,” Klusener added.
LSG and DC are in turmoil as they prepare for their final chance to breach the requirements to feature in the IPL playoffs. Both teams will be applying permutations and combinations to figure out their chances of featuring in the final four stage of the competition.
The Rishabh Pant-led DC are in sixth spot with 12 points and have just one game left in their group stage campaign. If they walk away with two points at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, they will end the group stage with 14 points and the manner of their victory will affect their negative net run rate of 0.482.
LSG are in the seventh spot with 12 points and have two matches remaining in the group stage. If they can turn around their form and bounce back from two successive defeats with two consecutive victories, they will end the group stage with 16 points.
With 16 points LSG could make the cut for the final four but their net run rate will play a crucial role in deciding their fate. If LSG makes it to the playoffs, it will mark the third consecutive season, which will see LSG feature in the knockout stage of the cash-rich league. (With ANI Inputs)