Curated By: Aakash Biswas
Last Updated: September 13, 2023, 15:00 IST
KL Rahul announced his ODI comeback with a century against Pakistan
Rahul admitted that he was a bit nervous ahead of his comeback. However, he eventually gained in confidence once he spent some time in the middle
India’s middle-order appeared to be in a muddle until KL Rahul returned with a scintillating hundred against Pakistan on Monday. A thigh injury kept him away from action for more than 4 months but thanks to the coaches and trainers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) who left no stone unturned in helping the Karnataka cricketer gather himself back.
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Comes India’s Super Four tie against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday when Rahul was summoned at the 11th hour. He was named in the playing XI after the management got to know about Shreyas Iyer’s back spasm. In a rain-marred match, Rahul struck an unbeaten 111 and then kept wickets for the entire duration in his first match for India since March.
Addressing the post-match presser after the Sri Lanka game, Rahul admitted that he was a bit nervous ahead of his comeback. However, he eventually gained in confidence once he spent some time in the middle before going all guns blazing against the Pakistan attack.
“I am happy with how the last two games have gone. I was a little nervous initially but as I started facing a few balls I felt alright,” said Rahul in the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
“I was thinking that I would be in the playing 11 and that’s how I prepared. I was confident that I could still go there and do the job. The team management has also told me that this will be my role – batting in the middle-order and keeping wickets. I have been keeping wickets for the last couple of years. So, it is not new to me. I think I started keeping in 2019 when Rishabh (Pant) got concussed against Australia. During my time at the NCA, I have worked on my keeping with the coaches there. Hopefully, I can do both roles well,” he added.
A special mention for Kuldeep Yadav
A keeper’s job also comprises guiding the bowler to hit the right areas. He did the same thing when Kuldeep Yadav held the ball. The Chinaman picked up a five-wicket haul against Pakistan followed by a four-fer against Sri Lanka and became the quickest Indian spinner to 150 ODI wickets.
Asia Cup 2023 Full Schedule | Asia Cup 2023 Complete Results | Asia Cup 2023 Full Coverage
Rahul praised Kuldeep for upgrading his skills and coming back as a better bowler.
“I am really enjoying watching him bowling and I can see that he has developed a few new tricks that are giving some results to him.
“We keep talking between the overs about the strategy to be adopted to get a batsman out or how to keep a set batsman away from the strike. His rhythm has also been good in the last two matches,” said Rahul.
(With PTI Inputs)
