KL Rahul first captained an Indian side in a Test match in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, in January 2022 in the absence of the then captain, Virat Kohli. Rahul thereby became the 34th Test captain for India. Team India lost that game by 7 wickets.
He went on to lead the Indian ODI side (as the 26th ODI captain of India) in the following 3-match away 50-over series against South Africa, in which India was swept clean 3-0 by the home side.
This article will state KL Rahul’s captaincy record in all three international formats and the Indian Premier League.
KL Rahul Captaincy Stats
| FORMAT | MATCHES CAPTAINED | WON | LOST | DRAW/TIES | NR | WIN% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODI | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| TEST | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| T20I | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| IPL | 64 | 31 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 48.43 |
Click here to compare and analyse other Captains’ records
Key Stats
Rahul’s first victory as captain in international cricket came against Zimbabwe in an ODI match at Harare Sports Club in August 2022. His first Test and T20I win as a skipper came against Bangladesh and Afghanistan (in Asia Cup 2022), respectively.
KL Rahul’s first IPL captaincy stint came in the 2020 season for Kings XI Punjab when he replaced Ravichandran Ashwin as the skipper. Rahul led the KXIP side in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the years in which the Punjab-based side finished in sixth place. Despite his poor outing as the skipper in his first two campaigns, KL Rahul, as a batter in IPL, 500+ runs seasons in the tournament.
In 2022, Rahul was drafted to lead the new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, the team which he captained really well in their first two campaigns. Having qualified for the Playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, LSG was eliminated in the Eliminator round in both seasons.
