KL Rahul scored a match-winning fifty against his former franchise Lucknow Super Giants. He was not treated fairly by the team owner, Sanjiv Goenka, who insulted him in front of the cameras after LSG’s defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024. The situation never returned to normal, and a captain who took the franchise to two playoff berths was shown the door. If this was not enough, Sanjiv continued to insult Rahul and once said that they retained players who wanted to perform for the franchise and not look for individual goals. It was a direct attack on Rahul, who was termed as selfish by the owner without taking his name.

The fireworks were expected when the 33-year-old returned to Lucknow. He showed why Lucknow made a mistake by letting him go. LSG’s record signing, Rishabh Pant, hasn’t been able to reach Rahul’s levels in the captaincy and batting department. The right-handed amassed an unbeaten 57 runs off 42 balls, with the help of 3 fours and 3 sixes.

With three fifties and more than 300 runs in seven matches, Rahul has already proved his worth. He met with Sanjiv Goenka while returning to the dressing room. There was a cold handshake between the two, clearly showing that the player hadn’t moved on. Even after hitting a winning six, he didn’t show emotions and remained silent.

Former India player Pragyan Ojha has urged the batter to let go of the bitter feeling for LSG. Let things go away. You could play for a new franchise after every three years. This is how the dynamics of IPL works. You became the fastest to score 5,000 runs in IPL. Your team is winning and everything is in order in your home. It would be better to enjoy the success,” Pragyan Ojha said.