KL Rahul's IPL Team Transfer plot written, transfer deal closing in England

Recent reports from The Times of India's senior journalist, Gaurav Gupta, have revealed that Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL franchise, are keen to invest in Delhi Capitals wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul for their upcoming season.

The IPL 2026 will be played next year, and the trade window has opened for all the teams and will remain open until the next season. The auctions will commence later this year, but several teams will be eyeing players in the pre-season in the form of trades.

KKR eye KL Rahul from Delhi Capitals for IPL 2026

The Kolkata Knight Riders are the defending champions of the 2024 season; however, they did not have a great campaign last season. They had decided to part ways with IPL-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer, who instead led his new franchise, Punjab Kings, to a successful IPL season and their second final in the history of the IPL.

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KKR lost many games and probably cited their opening pair as a major reason for the failure. Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz both failed to be promising at the top; hence, KL Rahul might be deemed a great choice to replace them.

SOME IPL update: Hearing that Kolkata Knight Riders are really keen on acquiring KL Rahul via trade.... @KKRiders @IPL

— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) July 31, 2025

KL Rahul's convincing performance for Delhi Capitals

KL Rahul made his IPL debut back in 2013 and has played for several franchises since his debut, including the Royal Challengers Bangalore, his home side. He next played for Punjab Kings, the side he has attained most of his success with, before moving to Lucknow Super Giants and then Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025.

Rahul is one of the most consistent players in the IPL; even in the last season with a new franchise, which largely depended on him with the bat, he delivered in several under-pressure crunch situations.

Having played in 13 matches for the Capitals, he scored a promising 539 runs with a century and 3 fifties. He had a strike rate of 150 this season, higher than most of his previous seasons, after he had to face severe criticism for often having a lower strike rate in quick-scoring games.

Rahul continues his rock-solid form in England

Indian batter KL Rahul, who was not even given a chance in the main playing 11, has had a redemption ever since his return to the Indian Test side. He showed great form in Australia and then bounced back in the England series as well.

Rahul, who has now emerged as the frontline Indian opener after Rohit Sharma's retirement, has scored 511 runs in 4 matches and 8 innings in the series, which is the second most in the series. He averages 63.87 and has most of his Test hundreds in SENA countries.

With 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries, he has the highest score of 137 and has nearly faced 1000 balls for his team, also playing a crucial role in the draw at Manchester.

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