Team India batter KL Rahul has shared that he was fit and ready to return in the Asia Cup before a niggle set him back by a couple of weeks again as well. He admitted going through a lot of ups and downs in his recovery process but added that being mentally ready helped him a lot. However, Rahul missed India’s group-stage matches of Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan and Nepal. But, he is available for the team’s Super 4 matches as well.
Speaking ahead of the mega clash, Rahul told bcci.tv, “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.”
Meanwhile, while speaking about his much-awaited return, KL Rahul shared that he was motivated to get fit as soon as possible and he is now ready to play 100 overs and keep for 50 overs as well.
“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,” KL Rahul further added.
READ MORE: Virat Kohli shares the importance of maintaining diet
He has also opened up on the thigh injury he sustained during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 while leading Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The right-handed batter shared that he was chasing a ball when his tendon snapped and he suffered a full-fledged tear. After that, he has been out of action since suffering the thigh injury during the IPL 2023 match between LSG and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Lucknow on May 1 and was all set to make a comeback for the Asia Cup but suffered another niggle during the rehabilitation process as well and his return got delayed.
In a video on bcci.tv, Rahul recalled, “Obviously, it’s quite painful but it’s also quite simple. I just tried to chase a ball and my tendon snapped. I had a full-fledged tear, my tendon ripped apart from my quadriceps. So when it happened, me, my family, the franchise, the team, everybody had their fingers crossed, hoping that wasn’t a big tear. But once we did the scans in a couple of days, we knew it was a full tear. It was quite clear that in terms of how I can get better from this injury was to go under the knife and do surgery.”
However, KL Rahul underwent thigh surgery in May, just a few days after he sustained the injury, and then started his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Sharing his thoughts on the recovery process, Rahul said that he knew that he needed to give the body enough time to recover as well.
“When you have a surgery, the most important thing is for you to have to respect that you put your body through something very big; you’ve had a big repair, so you have to respect it and give your body enough time to recover. I think skills, for me at least, I knew that I only needed a few weeks to get back in touch. The big thing was to feel confident in my own body and be pain free in movements that require a lot of intensity. Especially, coming back, I knew I’ll have to keep wickets as well and that was one of the big concerns for physios and me, a big question mark in my head that the biggest challenge for me coming back will be wicket-keeping because of the quadricep injury,” KL Rahul concluded.
