“No, I mean, I think the decision was made already and I don’t know what the comments are, but they must have come after the announcement,” Rahul instructed Superstar Sports activities in an interview aired on November 12. “I just felt like I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options and I wanted to go and play where I could find some freedom and the team atmosphere would be something much more balanced.
“The drive is already there within the IPL, it’s so top. You notice groups like Gujarat [Titans] and CSK [Chennai Super Kings] and all of those groups, and you spot after they win or lose, they appear actually balanced and the dressing room is actually tranquility. That’s one thing that’s very notable for me as a participant. I believe like if that occurs, it offers the entire gamers the most efficient probability to accomplish.
“We tried that at LSG with Andy Flower [head coach] and GG [Gautam Gambhir, mentor] first and then last year with [new head coach, Justin] Langer, we tried to create that in the change room. I think it was a brilliant atmosphere in the change room. I think sometimes you just need to move away and find something good for yourself.”
Rahul led LSG into the playoffs of their first two seasons, in 2022 and 2023. Requested to appear again on IPL 2024, Rahul urged that exterior drive will have contributed to their shed in effects. Nearest settingup with a loss to Rajasthan Royals, they gained 3 fits at the jump prior to stuttering mid-season. And after, they went on a downward spiral, whilst Rahul crowned their charts with 520 runs at a collision price of 136.12.
“There’s always ups and downs,” he mentioned. “You need to be able to hold your nerves and be able to keep and you need to be able to keep putting up good performances after good performances. All the travel, all the drama outside, the pressure – all of it is there every year. But somehow this season, it felt like there was a lot more and somehow I think that affected the team and we couldn’t put in performances when it really mattered.”
Having a look forward, Rahul mentioned IPL captaincy wasn’t essentially the most notable factor for him at this level, however enjoying in a “good environment” was once. “I would never go and ask someone for it,” Rahul mentioned when requested how notable IPL captaincy was once to him. “If you feel that my leadership skills are good enough, and you find something good in the way I play my cricket and in the way I handle myself, the way that I handle the team that I’ve captained in the last four to five years, and if you find it worthy, then of course I’m happy to do it.
“Nevertheless it’s now not one thing that could be a produce or crack for me. I simply need to be a part of a workforce that has a excellent climate. You’re feeling liked, cared for and revered in that climate and everybody on that franchise has one unmarried function to win the theory. there after that’s an excellent are compatible.”
Even as social media chatter of a potential reunion with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, his hometown team, gathers steam, Rahul was pragmatic about the possibility of playing anywhere. But it’s no secret which team he has a soft corner for. “I maximum loved enjoying at RCB. It’s additionally house,” he said. “You get to spend a batch of pace at house, and I do know the Chinnaswamy [Stadium] actually neatly. I’ve grown up enjoying on that grassland. So yeah, I actually loved my pace in RCB.”
Would he like to advance again to RCB?
“Yeah, after all like I mentioned, it’s more or less house and the folk there know me as a neighborhood Kannada boy, and it could be great to advance again there and get a possibility once more. However yeah, it’s an public sale pace so you’ll be able to advance anyplace.”
