KL Rahul's batting is a death warrant for DC: Ex-Indian cricketer's scathing remark
IPL 2026: Sanjay Manjrekar tore into KL Rahul's hot and cold batting style after Delhi Capitals' defeat to Chennai Super Kings. He said Rahul's sluggish start and dismissal at 12 left Delhi effectively out of the contest.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar made a brutal remark about KL Rahul following his less-than-a-run-a-ball innings for Delhi Capitals against Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday night, May 5. DC’s eight-wicket loss to CSK marked their fourth home defeat in five games.
With the Delhi pitch proving sluggish and difficult for batters to score freely, unlike in their previous game against Punjab Kings, DC managed to post only 156 runs for CSK to chase in 20 overs.
“It’s almost like odd and even games, where sometimes he goes after the bowling straightaway, which is the KL Rahul you want,” Manjrekar said via his Instagram handle. “But then he feels like he has earned the right and becomes responsible for the rest of the batters to come, and then plays an innings like that. Once you get out after getting to 12 off 12, you've signed the death warrant for your team. After those insipid first six overs, DC were done for the game.”
Rahul, who has been in ‘boom or bust’ form, struggled to get going and eventually fell to a sharp captaincy move by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who persisted with Akeal Hosein against the right-hander. Rahul finished with 12 off 13 balls.
“KL Rahul, after playing a brilliant innings in the previous match, got 12 off 12 balls in the first six overs. That’s two overs at a strike rate of 100. When you have openers going at 200, you can’t have an opener scoring 12 off 12 in the hope that he’ll explode later,” he added.
Despite the poor outing against CSK, the Karnataka batter has been DC’s standout performer this season, improving his strike rate significantly in the Indian Premier League. Rahul has amassed 445 runs in 10 matches at an average of 49.44 and a strike rate of 180.89.
DC’s playoff hopes remain slim, with just eight points from ten games. They next host Kolkata Knight Riders on May 8 before traveling to Dharamshala to face PBKS on May 11.
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Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar made a brutal remark about KL Rahul following his less-than-a-run-a-ball innings for Delhi Capitals against Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday night, May 5. DC’s eight-wicket loss to CSK marked their fourth home defeat in five games.
With the Delhi pitch proving sluggish and difficult for batters to score freely, unlike in their previous game against Punjab Kings, DC managed to post only 156 runs for CSK to chase in 20 overs.
“It’s almost like odd and even games, where sometimes he goes after the bowling straightaway, which is the KL Rahul you want,” Manjrekar said via his Instagram handle. “But then he feels like he has earned the right and becomes responsible for the rest of the batters to come, and then plays an innings like that. Once you get out after getting to 12 off 12, you've signed the death warrant for your team. After those insipid first six overs, DC were done for the game.”
Rahul, who has been in ‘boom or bust’ form, struggled to get going and eventually fell to a sharp captaincy move by Ruturaj Gaikwad, who persisted with Akeal Hosein against the right-hander. Rahul finished with 12 off 13 balls.
“KL Rahul, after playing a brilliant innings in the previous match, got 12 off 12 balls in the first six overs. That’s two overs at a strike rate of 100. When you have openers going at 200, you can’t have an opener scoring 12 off 12 in the hope that he’ll explode later,” he added.
Despite the poor outing against CSK, the Karnataka batter has been DC’s standout performer this season, improving his strike rate significantly in the Indian Premier League. Rahul has amassed 445 runs in 10 matches at an average of 49.44 and a strike rate of 180.89.
DC’s playoff hopes remain slim, with just eight points from ten games. They next host Kolkata Knight Riders on May 8 before traveling to Dharamshala to face PBKS on May 11.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
