"People who have not played the game their entire life…"- KL Rahul takes a dig at Sanjiv Goenka as he cites IPL more draining than international cricket

KL Rahul has been retained by Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL 2026 mini auction.

Indian Cricket Team batter KL Rahul has opened up on the severe challenges faced by captains and coaches in Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments. The right-handed batsman, while taking a subtle dig at Sanjiv Goenka, also made a bold statement, saying that IPL tournaments are more mentally and physically exhausting than international cricket.

Since his debut in IPL 2013 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Rahul has emerged as one of the stand-out batters in the cash-rich league. Recently, he was retained by his current team Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of IPL 2026 mini auction. He joined the side ahead of IPL 2025 after parting ways with his former team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Ahead of LSG’s entry into the tournament in the 2022 season, Rahul was picked by the franchise as the captain. He led the team to the playoffs in the first two seasons, where they lost the Eliminator games. However, the team gave a dismal performance in IPL 2024, finishing at seventh spot in the points table.

During the tournament, a video of LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka having an aggressive and animated chat with Rahul following a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) went viral on social media. There were also reports of fallout between him and Goenka after the team’s dismal performance in the season. Later, Rahul was released from the squad and was roped in by DC in the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Coaches, captains are constantly being asked a lot of questions in IPL: KL Rahul

During an interview on “Humans of Bombay” show, Rahul shed light on the challenges and constant pressure faced by captains and coaches in IPL. He also took a sly dig at IPL owners over their miscommunication with captains and coaches.

“What I found hard as a captain in the IPL was the number of meetings that you needed to do, the number of reviews that you needed to do and explain at the ownership level. I realised that at the end of IPL, I am more mentally and physically drained than playing 10 months of international cricket. Not just the captains, but coaches are also treated in the same manner, to a bunch of people who have not played the game their entire life at a deeper level,” he said.

“Coaches, captains are constantly being asked a lot of questions. It almost, after a point feels like, you are being questioned as to ‘why did you make this change? Why did he play in the XI? Why is it that the opposition got 200 and we couldn’t even get 120? Why are their bowlers getting more spin?’,” he added.

Rahul also feels that it is hard to explain the reasons for defeats to people belonging to non-sporting backgrounds.

“These are questions that we never get asked throughout the year, right? Because the coaches who are there know what’s going on. You are only answerable to the coaches and the selectors, who have all played cricket and understand the nuances of the game. There’s nothing in sport that guarantees victory. So, that’s hard to explain to people who come from a non-sporting background,” he further added.

Notably, Rahul also captained Punjab Kings (PBKS) from IPL 2018 to 2021, which was his first stint as an IPL captain. He could not drive the team to the playoffs during his tenure. Meanwhile, the senior Indian batter finished as the leading run-scorer for DC in IPL 2025, smacking 539 runs in 13 games at an average of 53.90, including one century and three fifties.

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