India opener KL Rahul has said he needs two more months to recuperate from his shoulder surgery and is targeting the the proposed series against Sri Lanka in August to return to action.
The 25-year old has been on the sidelines since the conclusion of the four-match Test series against Australia in March. The Karnataka batsman had suffered a shoulder injury right during the first match in Pune but went on to play all the Tests through the pain barrier and emerged as the second-highest run getter for India behind Cheteshwar Pujara (405) with 393 runs from 7 innings including six half-centuries.
He had to undergo a surgery for the injury and was ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League and also the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
“It’s been just a month that I had this surgery. It will take some more time, maybe two months to recover and attain the required fitness to get back to international cricket. So aiming for sometime in August for comeback, probably can make a comeback for the Sri Lanka series,” he told PTI on Monday (May 16).
The right-handed batsman further admitted that the injury has been challenging for him not only physically but also mentally as well as emotionally. Expressing his frustration over missing some big tournaments, Rahul vowed to come back stronger.
“So far it (the injury and the period after that) has been challenging not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. To be at home and not do anything is frustrating. It is challenging for me. Missing tournaments due to injury is a part and parcel of the game for a player. Of course I miss playing cricket, being part of the IPL, it is the biggest tournament in India and the Champions Trophy, would have been the first world (ICC) tournament that I would have played. It could have been a big moment in my career, I was looking forward to play in the Champions Trophy. It is little bit frustrating. I will take care of my recovery and come back stronger,” he said.
Rahul also said that the Indian team faced their toughest challenge of the home season during the series against Australia. The Virat Kohli-led side had registered comfortable victories over New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0) and Bangladesh (1-0) but were given a run for their money by the team from Down Under. The Steve Smith-led side surprised the hosts by winning the series-opener in Pune before India won the second and fourth Test to win the series 2-1.
“By far the toughest attacks we have faced at home in the last one year. They came well-prepared and were a strong unit. We were challenged a lot. We hadn’t lost a Test match in two years, so we learnt how to pick up from 0-1 down to beat the team 2-1. Can’t say we had lot of home advantage,” he said.
Rahul also said that it was disappointing for him to see Royal Challengers Bangalore’s struggles during the whole IPL. He was key to Royal Challengers’s fortunes last year when they finished the season as the runners-up. The Karnataka opener, who had struggled to get going in the shortest format of the game prior to the last season, was a revelation with the bat in the 2016 season, scoring 397 runs in 14 games at an average of 44.11.
“Even for the players who played this year, it was disappointing for them. It is a sport, every team has good and bad years,” he said.