Rahul Kannoly Praveen

Rahul Kannoly Praveen (born 16 March 2000), commonly known as Rahul K P, is an Indian professional footballer, who plays as a winger or striker for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.[1] He has represented the Indian national team at various youth levels including the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Rahul K.P.
Rahul training with Kerala Blasters in 2020
Personal information
Full name Rahul Kannoly Praveen
Date of birth (2000-03-16) 16 March 2000
Place of birth Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala, India
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Winger/Striker
Club information
Current team
 Kerala Blasters
Number 17
Youth career
Kerala State Football Team
AIFF Elite Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Indian Arrows 37 (6)
2019– Kerala Blasters 32 (5)
National team‡
2015–2018 India U17 7 (0)
2017–2019 India U20 3 (0)
2019– India U23 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:43, 20 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 October 2021

Club career

Youth and early career

Born in Thrissur, Kerala, Rahul played for the Thrissur district under-14 football team and later went on to play for the Kerala football team in the same age group. He was the top goal scorer in the under-14 category of the national championship held at Kolkata in 2013. On seeing his performance in the championship he was selected into the AIFF Elite Academy who was preparing for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be hosted in India.[2] After playing in the tournament, Rahul was selected to play for the Indian Arrows, an All India Football Federation-owned team that would consist of U-20 players to give them playing time.[3] He made his professional debut for the side in the Arrow's first match of the season against Chennai City. He started and played the whole match as Indian Arrows won 3–0.[4]

A month later, on 26 December, Rahul scored his first professional goal against Shillong Lajong. His 91st-minute goal was the last for the Arrows in a 3–0 victory.[5] He then scored again for the club in their next match against Mohun Bagan on 29 December. This time, his 33rd-minute goal was the equalizer as the Indian Arrows drew the match 1–1.[6] He became the first Indian player to score in Indian Super Cup 2019 by scoring against Mumbai City FC during the qualification round.

Kerala Blasters: 2019–present

On 19 March 2019, he signed for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.[7] He made his debut on October 24, 2019, coming off the bench in the 54th minute as Kerala lost 1–0 to Mumbai City. On November 22 he scored his first competitive goal for the club in the 34th minute of the match against Hyderabad from the assist of Sahal as Kerala blasters lost 2-1 and became the second youngest goal-scorer for the club after Deependra Negi.[8] Even though he was ruled out in most matches due to injury, Rahul made a total of eight appearances during the season.

In September 2020, Rahul extended his contract with the Blasters till 2025.[9] On 13 December, he scored his first goal of the 2020-21 season in the South Indian Derby against Bengaluru.[10] Rahul once again scored against Bengaluru FC on 20 January 2021. He scored the crucial winner in the 94th minute of the game, sealing the victory for Blasters.[11]

In 2021, he was named in the Kerala Blasters squad for 2021 Durand Cup, where he played all three matches for the club in the tournament.[12] Rahul played his first match of the 2021–22 Indian Super League season on 19 November in the season opener against ATK Mohun Bagan and assisted for the goal scored by Sahal Abdul Samad, before being substituted due to an injury.[13][14] The Blasters later confirmed that Rahul had suffered a partial tear on the groin muscle and would be out of action for minimum four weeks.[15][16][17] He came back to pitch in the match against Hyderabad on 23 February 2022, where he assisted to the only goal scored by the Blasters in their 2–1 defeat over the Nizams.[18][19] Rahul scored his first goal of the season in the final match of the 2021–22 ISL season against Hyderabad on 20 March, where his goal gave the lead for the Blasters initially, but the Blasters lost in penalty shoot-out after Hyderabad equilised in the last moments of the regular 90 minutes.[20]

International career

Rahul represented the India under-17 side which participated in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup for which India was the host nation[2] Rahul then got promoted to India under-20 side.

Personal life

In May 2021, Rahul was signed as the first ever South-Indian brand ambassador of MyFitness, India’s first U.S.FDA Registered Peanut Butter brand.[21]

Style of play

Primarily Rahul plays as a left winger, who can be also used as a Right winger. He's naturally right-footed and is known for his speed,explosiveness,dribbling and work rate. He has been also deployed as a Striker on several games.[22]

Career statistics

Club statistics
As of matches played till 20 March 2022[23]
Club Season League Super Cup/Durand Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Indian Arrows 2017–18 I-League17211––183
2018–19 20320––223
Indian Arrows total 3753100406
Kerala Blasters 2019–20 Indian Super League8100––81
2020–21 17300––173
2021–22 7130––101
Kerala Blasters total 3253000355
Career total 691061007511

International statistics
As of 24 April 2019
Team Appearances Goals
India U17 7 0
India U20 3 0
India U23 4 0

Honours

Kerala Blasters FC

References
  1. "ISL: Kerala Blasters' Rahul KP - I'm trying to go and play outside India, preferably Europe | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  2. Selvaraj, Jonathan (3 October 2017). "How 14,000 became 21: The story of India's history boys". ESPN.in. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. "Matos Names 25-member Indian Arrows Squad for Hero I-league 2017-18". The All India Football Federation. 29 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  4. "Indian Arrows 3-0 Chennai City". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. "Indian Arrows 3-0 Shillong Lajong". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  6. "Mohun Bagan 1-1 Indian Arrows". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  7. "ISL: Kerala Blasters sign Rahul KP". goal.com. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  8. Soni, George M. (30 November 2019). "Sahal Samad and Rahul KP say they prefer to turn disappointments into motivation to play better". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  9. "Rahul KP signs multi-year contract extension at Kerala Blasters". Khel Now. 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. Sportstar, Team. "ISL 2020-21 highlights: Bengaluru FC beats Kerala Blasters 4-2". Sportstar. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  11. Arun George (21 January 2021). "ISL: Kerala 'counter' late to beat BFC | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  12. Sportstar, Team. "Durand Cup 2021: Kerala Blasters FC announces squad". Sportstar. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  13. Mohun Bagan trounce Kerala Blasters in ISL 8 opener | Goal.com|url=https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/live/isl-2020-21-live-atk-mohun-bagan-kerala-blasters/blt07f8b7aaf28b85a2%7Caccess-date=2021-11-21%7Cwebsite=www.goal.com}}
  14. Sportstar, Team. "ISL 2021-22 Highlights ATK Mohun Bagan vs Kerala Blasters: ATKMB opens campaign with 4-2 win; Boumous scores brace on debut". Sportstar. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  15. "Injury Update – Rahul KP - Kerala Blasters FC". Kerala Blasters FC. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. Sportstar, Team. "Kerala Blasters winger Rahul KP sidelined with groin injury". Sportstar. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  17. "രാഹുലിന്റെ പരിക്ക് : വിശദീകരണവുമായി കേരള ബ്ലാസ്റ്റേഴ്‌സ്" [Rahul Injured: Kerala Blasters Update]. Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 22 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. Sportstar, Team. "ISL 2021-22 Highlights HFC 2-1 KBFC: Ogbeche and Siverio guide Hyderabad to first ever semifinal". Sportstar. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  19. "ISL: Hyderabad qualify for semifinals with 2-1 win over Kerala". ANI News. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  20. "ISL final: Hyderabad give Kerala the blues". The Indian Express. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  21. "Rahul KP signs as first-ever South Indian brand ambassador of MyFitness". Khel Now. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  22. Raghunathan, Abhijit (30 September 2020). "ISL 2020/21: Winger Rahul KP signs contract extension with Kerala Blasters FC". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  23. Rahul Kannoly Praveen at Soccerway
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