‘Rahul bhai ghar vapas aavo’ – Fans scream for home boy KL Rahul’s return to RCB ahead of IPL 2024 retention deadline 

The deadline for all Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises to announce their list of retained and released players is today (November 26, Sunday) at 4 PM IST. The pre-auction trading window will also close on the same day. Notably, only minimal trades have taken place between the teams so far. Cricket fans are excited to see the final list of players retained by each of the 10 teams as the ‘D-Day’ has approached.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans would love to see their homeboy KL Rahul return to the team in the upcoming season. They are appealing to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on social media to trade him to RCB. Rahul made his IPL debut for RCB as a wicketkeeper batter in the 2013 edition. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the 2014 IPL but returned to RCB in the 2016 season.

After a few years representing Punjab Kings, the 31-year-old has been named as their captain by LSG in the 2022 edition. However, now RCB fans want to see him don the red and black and play alongside Virat Kohli. Rahul had a decent outing with the Bangalore-based franchise in the 2016 season. It was their best-ever IPL edition, reaching the finals of the tournament.

Which players have been traded so far?

RCB reportedly made only one trade before the deadline. In a swap deal, they have traded all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, bringing Mayank Dagar in the line-up. There are also reports that fast bowler Harshal Patel will released. The 33-year-old was the Player of the Tournament in IPL 2022. But he failed to impress in the last two editions.

Meanwhile, LSG have traded pacer Avesh Khan to Rajasthan Royals (RR) for young batter Devdutt Patikal. West Indies cricketer Romario Shepherd was traded to Mumbai Indians (MI) from LSG for his existing fee of ₹50 lakh. There were reports that Gujarat Titans (GT) traded their captain Hardik Pandya to MI for an all-cash one-sided deal. But the official confirmation is yet to come.

Here are some fan reactions calling for KL Rahul’s return to RCB:

https://twitter.com/musafir_hu_yar/status/1728633068502818855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1728633068502818855%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=about%3Ablank