Nicholas Pooran took over as captain of the Lucknow Super Giants for the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Punjab Kings, which took place on Saturday at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. KL Rahul had previously held the position of captain.
After Lucknow decided to bat, Pooran, who had stepped out for the toss, said that Rahul would be a part of the Impact Player lineup. After suffering an injury that forced him to miss two months of activity, the batter for the West Indies said that Rahul was starting to make his comeback gradually.
After suffering a quadriceps injury that prevented him from participating in the India-England Test series before the start of the Indian Premier League season, Rahul made his comeback with a 58-run innings against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, even though the match was a loss for the Rajasthan Royals.
Rahul had also been sidelined with a hamstring issue, which caused him to miss the second leg of the Indian Premier League 2023. This occurred before Lucknow was eliminated from the playoffs by Mumbai Indians. Since then, the 31-year-old has made a successful comeback for India, establishing himself as an essential member of the middle order for the One-Day International World Cup in 2023.
Before hitting 89 runs against England in the first of the five-Test series at home in Hyderabad in January, Rahul was also one of India’s top hitters during the Test trip to South Africa. This was before Rahul made his debut against England. Even though the Karnataka batter was able to restore his fitness in time for the Indian Premier League, the medical experts of the BCCI had recommended that Rahul engage in the role of a specialist batsman rather than keeping wicket in the early stages of the competition.
On the other hand, Rahul filled the roles of designated keeper and opening batter for Lucknwow in the first game of the tournament. Since then, the 31-year-old has made a successful comeback for India, establishing himself as an essential member of the middle order for the One-Day International World Cup in 2023. Before hitting 89 runs against England in the first of the five-Test series at home in Hyderabad in January, Rahul was also one of India’s top hitters during the Test trip to South Africa. This was before Rahul made his debut against England.
Even though the Karnataka batter was able to restore his fitness in time for the Indian Premier League, the medical experts of the BCCI had recommended that Rahul engage in the role of a specialist batsman rather than keeping wicket in the early stages of the competition. On the other hand, Rahul filled the roles of designated keeper and opening batter for Lucknwow in the first game of the tournament.
During India’s elimination from the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup in Adelaide in 2022, Rahul played his last Twenty20 International for the team. During the match versus Punjab Kings that took place on Saturday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, fans were taken aback when they saw wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran, rather than the typical skipper KL Rahul, make his way to the center for the toss.
After Pooran won the toss and made the choice to bat first against Punjab Kings, the interim skipper offered some clarity about KL Rahul’s absence from leading the team against Punjab Kings. Pooran’s decision was a result of his victory in the toss. The decision to choose wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran rather than the customary captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, KL Rahul, came as a surprise to the fans.
During the match versus Punjab Kings that took place on Saturday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, the player walked to the center of the field to perform the toss. The stand-in captain explained the reason why KL Rahul did not lead the team in their match against Punjab Kings. Pooran won the toss and chose to bat first against Punjab Kings.
KL Rahul, the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, did not participate in the toss before the team’s match versus Punjab Kings on Saturday, which was the second match of the Indian Premier League 2024 season. Nicholas Pooran, on the other hand, was the one who led the LSG team; at first, there were worries that Rahul had sustained yet another injury. On the other hand, Pooran decided to bat after winning the toss in Lucknow, and he confirmed that Rahul would be participating in the match as an Impact Player. This helped to assuage the anxieties that had been floating about.
