KL Rahul is fortunate to get the opportunity in the recently concluded T20I series against West Indies. Shikhar Dhawan’s injury created a chance for the Karnataka player to showcase his worth in the shortest format. In Mumbai pitch, Rahul played classic shots and gave a solid start to the team.
In the first T20I at Hyderabad, Rohit Sharma lost his wicket early but KL Rahul continued his stunt. He scored 62 runs and set a solid partnership with the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Thus, men in blue easily chased down their highest T20I target of 208 runs.
Thiruvanthapuram was not good for Rahul as he lost his wicket early and the visitors won that match. However, he didn’t stop himself in Mumbai Pitch where the two teams played the decider match of the series. He struck 9 fours and 4 sixes all over the ground. Before getting out in the final over of that innings, he scored 91 runs and leaving his team in a high position.
Due to Shikhar Dhawan’s injury, KL Rahul got an opportunity to serve the T20I side as an opener. Before this series, Rahul was struggling in international cricket. He said that it was difficult for a batsman to perform his best when his place is not sure in the team.
“I won’t say I don’t feel it (pressure) at all. Obviously, going in and out of the team is never easy on any player, you take a little bit of time to get used to the international pressure and oppositions and there is no opposition where you can just walk in and score runs, so it’s always difficult,” Rahul told reporters.
This game is all about confidence – KL Rahul
KL Rahul was dropped from the Test side after he had continuous low performances. However, the player continued to play the domestic tournaments in the top ways. He was the part of Karnataka team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019/20 and Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019/20. He said that a cricketer could prepare himself when he kept practising.
“This game is all about confidence and being in a good rhythm and good touch. I can’t really sit outside and not prepare, all I can do is sit outside and prepare and try to create match feel for myself and I did play a lot of first-class cricket, so not a lot of changes, it is still T20 cricket,” he said.