“Don’t think he would be happy because he’s broken Virat Kohli’s record” - Suniel Shetty’s huge statement on KL Rahul amid IPL 2025

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty expressed pride in his son-in-law, India and Delhi Capitals (DC) cricketer KL Rahul, after the latter notched up a record ton against the Gujarat Titans (GT), scoring 112* off 65 deliveries. Shetty said the DC batter would be happy for what he has achieved and not for breaking Virat Kohli's record. DC and GT faced off in the 60th match of the IPL 2025 on Sunday, May 18.

Rahul (224 innings) surpassed Kohli (243 innings) to become the fastest Indian batter to reach 8,000 T20 runs during his 112-run knock.

With that innings, Rahul became the only cricketer in IPL history to smash a ton for three teams. He has scored two centuries for the Punjab Kings (PBKS), a couple more for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and one representing DC. Notably, the wicketkeeper-batter has represented five teams in the cash-rich event over the years.

During the promotion of his upcoming film 'Kesari Veer,' Suniel Shetty praised the cricketer’s recent feat in a conversation with ANI. The Bollywood star said the DC cricketer would be happy because he’s done well personally, not because he broke Virat Kohli’s record.

“He admires Virat a lot. They’re very good friends. So, I don’t think he would be happy just because he’s broken Virat Kohli’s record. He’ll be happy because he’s done well. For him, it’s not about beating Virat or Rohit (Rohit Sharma)—it’s about doing well and taking the team home. That’s all that matters,” Shetty told ANI.

“He wants to play for the country, come what may”- Suniel Shetty on KL Rahul’s ambitions

KL Rahul has done brilliantly for the Delhi Capitals this season. He started as a middle-order batter and took up the No. 4 spot in the lineup before moving to the top of the order, as an opener, in the team’s latest outing against Gujarat.

He’s been impressive throughout and brought up his maiden ton for the franchise when he opened the innings alongside Faf du Plessis against GT. He’s shown composure every time he’s walked out to bat and made a strong case for his selection in the Indian T20I team.

Praising KL Rahul’s caliber and mentality as a batter, Shetty, during the same conversation with ANI, added:

“The only thing I know about KL Rahul is that he wants to play for the country, come what may. He wants to play all formats, whether it’s No. 1, No. 5, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, or No. 11. He just wants to be a part of Team India, and that’s his biggest high.”