IPL 2022: KL Rahul to part ways with Punjab Kings, possibly lead Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore?

Punjab Kings captain and current leader in Orange Cap race KL Rahul is set to part ways with his current IPL franchise next season, according to media report. Rahul is the leading run-scorer in IPL 2021 with 626 runs in 13 games, although PBKS have already ended their campaign in the T20 league.

According to a report in Cricbuzz website, it is believed that he has been approached by a few franchises that have shown interest in getting him. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yet to announce the retention policy for the next season – when there will be a mega-auction – there is still lack of clarity on the number of retentions and Right To Match (RTM) cards available for a franchise.

“A franchise has the right to use the RTM cards, when made available for the auction, for its current players and it is understood that discussions are taking place behind the scenes so that Rahul’s parting with the Kings is an amicable one. Rahul, now in the Indian bubble for the T20 World Cup, could not be reached for a comment while a Punjab Kings official has categorically denied having deliberations on the topic,” the report in Cricbuzz read.

One of the franchise that could be Rahul’s possible destination could be Royal Challengers Bangalore, who will be looking for a top Indian player to lead the side with Virat Kohli already announcing that he won’t be leading the franchise in IPL 2022.

Apart from RCB, a couple of new teams are set to join the T20 league soon with BCCI already floating the tender for two new teams in IPL 2022. Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni has already indicated that even he is not sure if he’ll be part of the ‘Yellow Army’ next season.