KL Rahul, the Indian cricketer, shared that he was all set to return for the Asia Cup but a minor injury delayed his comeback by a few weeks. He acknowledged facing challenges during his recovery but emphasized the importance of mental readiness.
Rahul was absent for India’s initial Asia Cup 2023 matches against Pakistan and Nepal but is now ready for the Super 4 matches. The Indian team will face Pakistan at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday, September 10.
Speaking before the highly anticipated match, Rahul mentioned in an interview with bcci.tv that he was prepared to make his international comeback before a minor injury setback occurred during the Asia Cup.
“Unfortunately, in the process of doing that [recovery], I developed a small niggle just before I could come back into the team, which was a big downer.”
“I was actually ahead of schedule, and I felt like I could come back much before the Asia Cup and give myself a lot of time and prepare myself really well,” Rahul said.
“But unfortunately, one more niggle set me back a couple of weeks. So yeah, I went through a bit of ups and downs within the recovery period as well. So that’s part of it. I was ready mentally, so I think that really helped,” the 31-year-old added.
India faces a challenging decision about whether to include Rahul in the starting lineup for the match against Pakistan on Sunday. In the previous game against Pakistan, wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan scored 82 runs.
“I’m happy to come back into the team” – KL Rahul
Discussing his eagerly anticipated comeback, Rahul expressed his motivation to regain fitness quickly and affirmed his readiness to participate in a full 100-over match while also taking on the role of wicketkeeping for 50 overs.
“I’m happy to come back into the team and get back the rhythm of being in the middle, playing 100 overs, keeping for 50 overs. I’m fighting for as long as I need to, just getting back that adrenaline of being back on the cricket field.”
“We’re playing the best tournaments outside of the World Cup. We’re playing some quality teams in the next week, 10 days. So I’m very excited about that. I’ve prepared really well. I’m confident about myself,” the batter concluded.
Rahul’s most recent competitive game took place on May 1 during the IPL 2023 encounter between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Lucknow.
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