What happened to KL Rahul: Why is KL Rahul not playing today’s IPL 2021 match vs Delhi Capitals?

KL Rahul not playing: Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal is leading Punjab Kings for the first time in Lokesh Rahul’s absence.

During the 29th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has won the toss and chose to field.

“We are going to bowl first. We are doing good as a team. We are trying to focus on things, we just try to learn from our game and move forward. I am enjoying every bit of it [captaincy],” Pant told Star Sports at the toss.

Runners-up of IPL 2020, Capitals have successfully carried forwarded their form in this season as well. As a result, Pant and the team management has decided against making changes to their Playing XI for this match.

Why is KL Rahul not playing vs Delhi Capitals?

Replacing Lokesh Rahul not just as an opening batsman but as captain as well, Mayank Agarwal expressed confidence in his team after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday.

“We’re going to miss him [Lokesh Rahul] but it is what it is. I can hope that it gets a little lower and slower as the game goes on but it’s good to set a target and then defend it. Really looking forward to the responsibility, we’ve spoken about going out and playing aggressively with smiles on our faces,” Agarwal told Star Sports at the toss.

Speaking particularly about Rahul, Punjab’s regular captain will miss this match after getting diagnosed with acute appendicitis. Currently hospitalized and set to undergo a surgery, Rahul’s condition was revealed by Kings via a tweet a few hours ago. Having scored 331 runs in seven innings at an average and strike rate of 66.20 and 136.21 respectively, Rahul is the highest run-scorer of this season.

In addition to replacing their captain, Kings have also included debutant Dawid Malan for batsman Nicholas Pooran, who has been struggling for form this season.