KL Rahul gives cold shoulder to LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka after firing DC to win in Lucknow; watch video

Despite Sanjiv Goenka trying to engage KL Rahul in a conversation, the Delhi Capitals batter walked off after a brief handshake as he guided his team to a comfortable win over Lucknow Super Giants. read more

KL Rahul refused to have a talk with Sanjiv Goenka despite the Lucknow Super Giants owner trying his best. Image: JioHotstar screenshot

KL Rahul played a match-winning knock on his return to his former home ground in Lucknow and then gave a cold shoulder to his former team’s owner, Sanjiv Goenka, on Tuesday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. It was the first time Rahul was returning to play against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium since parting ways with them ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.

The reasons for Rahul not being retained by LSG is pretty much known as his relationship with LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka deteriorated in the IPL 2024 after Goenka publicly reprimanded the former Lucknow captain after a defeat. Eventually, LSG released Rahul ahead of the auction as he bought by Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 14 crore.

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KL Rahul almost ignores Sanjiv Goenka in Lucknow

On Tuesday, Rahul got his chance to exact revenge on Goenka as he smashed 57 not out off 42 balls to guide DC to an eight-wicket win over LSG. He finished the 160-run chase with a six off Prince Yadav on the last ball of the match.

After ending the match with a bang, LSG team owner Sanjiv Goenka and his son Shashwat Goenka approached Rahul on the pitch for a handshake and tried to engage him in a small conversation. But Rahul didn’t seem interested as he quickly shook their hands and moved on. His reluctance to spend time with the Goenka family only hints that the Indian batter has still not recovered from the unfair treatment meted out to him by the management in his last season with the Lucknow Super Giants.

Watch video here:

KL Rahul walking away from Goenka 😭😭😭😭

Absolute Cinema ❤️🥵🥵#LSGvsDC #KLRahulpic.twitter.com/28QpmZnBJR — Pan India Review (@PanIndiaReview) April 22, 2025

Rahul spent three seasons with LSG as captain, taking them to the playoffs twice.

Also on the night, Rahul became the fastest batter to reach the landmark of 5,000 runs in IPL. He reached the milestone in just 130 innings, five fewer than David Warner, who held the record before him. The third fastest to 5,000 runs in IPL is Virat Kohli. He completed 5,000 IPL runs in 157 innings.

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The victory over LSG was Delhi Capitals’ sixth win in IPL 2025 from just eight matches. They are currently second in the IPL 2025 points table, behind Gujarat Titans and look set to qualify for the playoffs even before the league phase ends.

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