Lucknow Super Giants were restricted to just 163/5 total by Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2024 clash at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Marcus Stoinis smashed 58 off 43 but the likes of KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal struggled to impress in a home game.
Rahul won the toss and elected to bat first but his decision backfired in the very first over. Umesh Yadav dismissed in-form Quinton de Kock and struggling Padikkal in the first three overs to give Gujarat a strong start.
LSG made a comeback with Rahul and Stoinis adding 73 runs for the third wicket. However, fans were not happy with the duo's approach and took to social media to express their feelings. KL Rahul got trolled for scoring another struggling knock of 33 off 31 balls with the help of three fours.
The star wicketkeeper has managed to score 126 runs in four innings but his strike rate of 128.57 is not helping his cause to win the T20 World Cup 2024 spot. Rahul's traditional approach in modern-day T20 cricket is clearly triggering Indian fans to question the player's role if he gets selected for the mega ICC tournament in June.
With Rishabh Pant back to full fitness and scoring two fifties in the first four innings in the IPL 2024 and Sanju Samson impressive with both bat and leadership skills, Rahul's selection is unlikely for the World Cup 2024.
India have heavily utilised Punjab Kings' wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma in the recent T20Is and the selectors are likely to keep him under consideration for the World Cup spot.
Notably, KL Rahul partnered with Rohit Sharma to open an innings in the previous T20 World Cup in 2022 with Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik donning the gloves.
