KL Rahul has been named in the 15-member World Cup squad for India and that is really special for him as he is pretty much aware of the impact of winning the World Cup. He has seen how everyone reacted after winning 2011 edition where Gautam Gambhir’s 97 and former captain MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 91 guided India to win the title in Mumbai.

“When the game was over it was absolute chaos. The roads were blocked, everybody left their homes and was on the road celebrating,” Rahul said on Friday as he recalled the aftermath of India’s second World Cup triumph. It was an unbelievable experience to see so many people forgetting about their worries. Whatever they had going on in their lives, they were just so, so happy India had won the World Cup. It was even bigger because we won it at home in India — it brought billions of people together and brought so much joy,” KL Rahul said.

“I knew what a World Cup could do to the country, how big it is and how valuable it is to be part of a World Cup dream,” he said. “To be here after eight years representing my country means the world to me. I’m looking forward to hopefully inspiring billions of people again and to win the World Cup would be the icing on the cake,” he further added.

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The 27-year-old has found a place and he will play alongside MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and others which is definitely a dream come true for him.

“To be part of this team is incredible,”” Rahul said. “It’s not just MS and Virat, there are so many other talented individuals — Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan) and Jasprit (Bumrah), who is the most feared bowler in world cricket right now. Hopefully the hard work we have put in over the past two or three years means we can go out there, enjoy ourselves and win the World Cup,” he expressed.

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India will begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa on June 5 in the Rose Bowl, Southampton.