Star Indian batter in line to make T20I return during Bangladesh tour amid IPL 2025 heroics - Reports

Delhi Capitals (DC) wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul is reportedly on the Indian selectors' radar for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh, away from home. The white-ball series is scheduled to be held after the tour of England, during the August-September window.

The tour will officially kickstart Team India's road to the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue already have a solid pool of players, primarily developed after the 2024 edition. However, with nothing set in stone this early in the run to the competition, and the fact that KL Rahul has been at his best, brings him back into consideration after nearly a three-year exile.

KL Rahul has excelled in a wide variety of roles for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Initially playing in the middle-order, the wicket-keeper batter emerged to be the backbone of the batting unit. Promoted back to the top in the competition's final leg, he scored an unbeaten and resounding 112 runs off 65 balls against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, May 18.

His fifth IPL hundred takes his season run tally to 493 in 11 innings at an average of 61.62 and a strike rate of 148.04.

According to a report by the Times of India, KL Rahul has made a strong case to the selectors over the last six months regarding a T20I comeback.

The report also suggests that if he continues to bat in this fashion, he may well be in the scheme of things for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

KL Rahul has not played a T20I for India since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final

Struggling to keep up in an era where brute aggression was demanded from the word-go, KL Rahul was dropped from the Indian T20I side after their elimination from the 2022 T20 World Cup at the hands of England. During the knockout clash, the wicket-keeper batter was dismissed for a run-a-ball five, concluding his campaign with just 128 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 21.33.

Team India have found a plethora of opening batters since then, giving KL Rahul no potential room to make his way back in. The Karnataka batter continued to be among the runs in the IPL, but was not selected for the 2024 T20 World Cup, and was subsequently released by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) as well.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) stint was touted to be a new lease of life for KL Rahul, and it has panned out exactly that way. DC team mentor Kevin Pietersen has spoken at length over the course of the season regarding KL Rahul's determination to change his approach, and make a strong case for a comeback into the national side.