Last Update on: September 13th, 2023 at 12:53 pm
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Star India batsman, KL Rahul opened up on his wicketkeeping abilities after his injury and said that he used to practice them during his recovery session at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
While speaking at the post-match press conference after the match against Sri Lanka, KL Rahul accepted that he has not played cricket for a long time but his return to the Indian cricket team has been good.
The 31-year-old wicketkeeper cum batsman added that he trusted his training session at NCA for the last three or four months. KL Rahul was also confident that he could do wicketkeeping after his thigh injury.
The batsman agreed that he was nervous at first but things were normal once he started facing balls. KL Rahul further added that he tried to figure out shots that he could play and then executed it.
“It has been some time since I played some cricket, and so far, it has been good. I trusted my preparation for the last three or four months and was confident I could do the job. I was nervy initially, but once I faced a few balls, it was back to normal. After the first few balls, I tried to figure out the shots I could play and did not want to go into a shell. I wanted to defend and diffuse the pressure at the same time. I still wanted to play my shots, but according to the nature of the pitch,” KL Rahul said.
It has been quite a while since I have been keeping: KL Rahul
KL Rahul said that he has been keeping it for a while now. He added that after Rishabh Pant got concussed in 2019, he has been wicketkeeping for the team.
The wicketkeeper cum batsman said that after he joined the team from injury, the team management asked him to play in the middle order.
“Before the injury, I was wicket-keeping. It has been quite a while that I have been keeping. Since Rishabh Pant got concussed in 2019, I have donned the gloves. So, it is not something new. The team management had also told me that my role would be to keep and play in the middle order. When I was in NCA during recovery, I got a bit of time and I worked on my wicketkeeping,” he added.
In the sixth Super Fours match of the Asia Cup 2023, India will play against Bangladesh on Friday (September 15th) at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.