'If only KL Rahul understood...': Ex-India pacer burns under-fire LSG captain with huge Ajinkya Rahane jibe

Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul has been the franchise's highest run-getter in IPL 2023 as he continues to aim for the Orange Cap yet another time. But the star batter has been the cynosure of the ongoing strike rate debate in IPL, with criticism having reached the peak following his sluggish half-century knock in the low-scoring clash against Gujarat Titans in Lucknow where the team suffered a final-over defeat. The LSG skipper has now been viciously attacked by a former India cricketer with a huge Ajinkya Rahane jibe.

Rahane has been a surprising package in IPL 2023. Having spent the last one year in wilderness after being axed from the Indian Test team, Rahane has kicked off the season in thundering form scoring 209 runs in five innings for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), laced with two half-centuries, at a strike rate of 199.04. Among batters who have faced at least 100 balls in IPL 2023, Rahane has the best strike rate, and a glimpse of his magnificent stroke play was in display at the Eden Gardens on Sunday when eh scored an unbeaten 71 in CSK's 49-run win.

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Following the knock, veteran India pacer Dodda Ganesh mounted an unsparing attack on the under-fire LSG skipper with a statement on Rahane.

“Rahane he has shown that with intent you can do wonders. If only KL Rahul understood this #IPL2023,” he tweeted.

Rahul's knock against GT in their chase of 136 was severly criticised last week. He had scored 68 runs off 61 balls in that match where the last 38 runs, scored after the powerplay, came in 42 balls.

"[I] obviously wasn't trying to bat really deep, but still trying to play my shots, still trying to take on the bowlers I fancy," Rahul had said. "They bowled quite well in the two-or-three-over period between Noor and Jayant [Yadav]. And probably we should have taken a couple of more chances. We had a few wickets in hand but, look, it wasn't an easy wicket for the batters to come in and get going straight away. Set batter - you obviously want them to play and finish the game for you."