It Has Been Quite A Tough Time To Be Away From Cricket: KL Rahul

KL Rahul made a good return to the cricket field, scoring an entertaining 54 on the first day of the two-day practise tie against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI in his first game for India since the Test against Australia in March.

Since then, the 25-year old batsman was on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury which halted his good form with the bat. Prior to the injury, the right-handed batsman had scored 6 half-centuries in the Border-Gavaskar series before undergoing a surgery. Consequently, he missed the Indian Premier League and the ICC Champions Trophy which would have been his first ICC tournament. And although, he is back on the cricket field and looked in good form right from the start, he said he is still nervous.

“Yes, I am [nervous]. The body is still very unsure and it keeps holding me back every time. That’s the biggest challenge coming back from injury,” Rahul said after the first day’s play on Friday (July 21).

“You know that you are physically fit and you have done everything that you can, worked really hard, you are feeling stronger, you are feeling fitter. But the mind always tells you what if it happens again, what if you have to go through the same grind for three months, what if your shoulder is not ready, what if you came back early. The fear is obviously there but I will fight it and I will overcome that,” he added.

Speaking about his knock in his comeback match, the Karnataka star said: “I haven’t been happier ever in my life. It has been quite a tough time to be away from cricket, to be away from the thing that you love the most. I was middling the ball from ball one, hit a few boundaries, rotated the strike and not a lot of balls beat my bat. Playing in the nets is an entirely different thing and going out there in the middle is a completely different challenge.”

Rahul will now be hoping to continue his form in the Test series against Sri Lanka. He has already cemented his spot in the Test team and a good performance in the  upcoming three-match series might pave his way for a regular spot in the limited-overs team. The Test series will start on July 26 at Galle before the teams move to Colombo (August 3) and Pallekele (August 12) for the second and third Tests respectively.