Watch: KL Rahul Wrongfully Given LBW Out Despite Bat Hitting Pads

Indian cricket team’s opening batsman KL Rahul was wrongfully given out by the third umpire during the 1st Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match between India and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

The Indian team is in critical situation after the end of the first session in Perth as India finds itself 4 wickets down for just 54 runs in first 25 overs.

It was the India captain Jasprit Bumrah who won the toss and opted to bat first. But, it didn’t take long for Australia to strike the first blow to the Indian team, getting the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the third over itself.

Devdutt Padikkal, a late entry into the squad, also departed for a duck despite playing 23 balls. Veteran batter Virat Kohli also couldn’t do much as he nicked to Usman Khawaja off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling.

This left the Indian team in dire state. Both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant looked to build a partnership. But then, a shock hit Team India and KL Rahul.

KL Rahul was wrongfully given LBW out by the third umpire after the on-field umpire’s call of not out, to which the Australia captain Pat Cummins reviewed. The third umpire didn’t take long and had only few angles with not clear visibility before he decided to overturn the on-field umpire’s decision and gave it a out.

However, later more angles revealed that it was actually the bat that hit the pad and KL Rahul was actually wrongly given out. Watch the video below.

KL Rahul continues to struggle

KL Rahul started the year 2024 on a great run of form. He scored crucial runs in the Test series vs South Africa and England. However, it has since gone downhill. In the Bangladesh home series, Rahul scored 106 runs in 3 innings before another disappointing performance in the series vs New Zealand, where he played only in the first Test and scored just 12 runs in 2 innings. This has left Rahul fighting for his place in the Indian team.

KL Rahul dropped by LSG ahead of IPL 2025

Things didn’t get easy for KL Rahul outside of Test cricket as well. Rahul was released by his franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.

It was a difficult season for KL Rahul and Lucknow in the IPL 2024 season. Although Rahul scored 520 runs, he was criticised for his strike rate, which was only 136.13 in the tournament.

Eventually, he was released by the franchise and further statement from franchise official stated that the team wanted only players who will play for team rather than his individual achievements, indirectly taking a dig at Rahul.