KL Rahul’s stint as Punjab Kings captain was filled with individual brilliance but collective disappointment. Leading the franchise between 2020 and 2021 after joining the team in 2018, Rahul consistently delivered with the bat, yet Punjab Kings repeatedly fell short of securing a coveted IPL playoff berth despite coming agonisingly close on several occasions.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who served as Punjab Kings’ batting coach from 2019 to 2021, recently opened up about Rahul’s calm personality and revealed the only occasion on which he saw the stylish batter visibly frustrated. Speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show, Jaffer described Rahul as one of the most composed cricketers he has worked with.
“KL is naturally very composed, a bit reserved, and keeps to himself,” Wasim Jaffer said. “You would not see him out and about much, as he mostly socialises within his close circle of friends. It is very rare to see him lose his cool or get visibly angry on or off the field.”
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However, Punjab Kings’ repeated habit of losing matches from winning positions eventually tested even Rahul’s patience. “But back when I was the batting coach at Punjab, every single game felt like a heartbreak,” Jaffer recalled. “We were losing matches from winning positions, and almost every game was dragging down to the final over. After one of those close losses, a game we easily should have won, I saw him get genuinely angry for the first time. He didn’t say anything out of line, but you could see how deeply frustrated he was with how badly we had played. That was the only time I saw KL Rahul a little angry.”
Punjab Kings endured several heartbreaking defeats during Rahul’s captaincy. In the 2020 season, they suffered a Super Over loss against Delhi Capitals and narrowly lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by just two runs while chasing 165. The franchise finished with six wins from 14 matches and narrowly missed out on the playoffs.
The story was similar in IPL 2021, with Punjab once again losing crucial matches by fine margins, including a two-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals and a six-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. They ended the season with 12 points for the second consecutive year, finishing outside the top four.
Despite the team’s struggles, Rahul remained one of the tournament’s most consistent performers. He won the Orange Cap in IPL 2020 after scoring 670 runs in 14 innings at an average of 55.83, including one century and five half-centuries. He followed it up with another outstanding campaign in 2021, amassing 626 runs in 13 innings with six fifties.
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Overall, Rahul scored 2,548 runs in 55 matches for Punjab Kings at a remarkable average of 56.62 and a strike rate of nearly 140, making him the franchise’s highest run-scorer in IPL history.
After leaving Punjab, Rahul captained Lucknow Super Giants from 2022 to 2024, guiding the franchise to two playoff appearances. He later joined Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2025 and has continued his prolific run, including a superb IPL 2026 season in which he scored 593 runs in 14 innings at an average of 45.61 and a strike rate of 174.41, highlighted by an unbeaten 152—the first 150-plus score by an Indian batter in IPL history.
