India opening batter KL Rahul reacted after parting ways with Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2022. Rahul, who had captained PBKS in the last two editions of the IPL, decided to go in the auction pool despite the Punjab-based franchise expressing their desires of retaining him. According to the IPL retention rules, a franchise cannot force retention on a player. It has to happen with mutual consent but in this case, former India captain and current PBKS head coach Ani Kumble clarified that it was Rahul's decision to go into the auction and the franchise respected that.
Rahul, for his part, posted a photo on his Koo account on Wednesday with the caption: "It was a good ride, thank you for the love see you on the other side."
Rahul was picked up by PBKS for a whopping 11 crore by PBKS ahead of IPL 2018 when he was surprisingly released by Royal Challengers. In his four seasons with the franchise, Rahul returned as one of their most consistent performers with the bat.
While the opening batting, Rahul started off his journey at PBKS with 659 runs in 2018. He continued his form in 2019 by notching up 593 runs. There was no dip in form after being elevated as captain. In fact, Rahul's run-scoring became a regular affair in a PBKS innings. He finished with 670 runs and 626 runs in IPL 2020 and IPL 2021 respectively.
PBKS, on the other hand, retained Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh.
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