KL Rahul tried to clear up a misconception about him during a press conference before the second ODI against England in Pune. The 28-year-old said that he didn’t want people to think he’s not passionate about his game just because he’s not expressive enough on the field.
After a string of poor performances in the T20Is where he managed to score 15 runs in 4 games with two ducks, KL Rahul roared back to form during the first ODI between India and England. Batting at No. 5 in this match, he scored an unbeaten 62 off 43 balls, helping India post a huge total to win the game.
KL Rahul Have Always Been Calm And Tried To Stay Balanced
KL Rahul mentioned it was a quality that he always tried to imbibe into his personality, regardless of his performances when questioned if his calmness helped him overcome the rough patch in the T20Is.
He said: “I have always been calm, I’ve always tried to stay balanced. I have always told myself that I love this game, this game has been everything for me. Whoever I’m today is because of the game. But it is also important that you realise that you should have to treat a game as a game. That is one thing that I believe keeps you a lot calmer, it keeps you in a good frame of mind. Only if you are in a good frame of mind, you can be more consistent for the team and churn out good performances.”
KL Rahul also credited senior cricketers for providing him with some valuable life lessons in his early days.
“In my growing years, I kept talking to myself (about staying calm and balanced). The more I have seen the game, with more experience, I learnt better. Whenever you talk to the senior players in the team, they always tell you to remain balanced in your good days and in your bad days,” KL Rahul added.
India had been struggling at the top of the order with KL Rahul scoring 1,0,0, 14 in the first four T20Is, Virat Kohli had backed KL Rahul to come well up until the final match as his patience finally ran out with the Karnataka batsman as the captain successfully promoted himself as an opener in the series-deciding final T20I.
KL Rahul Is Quiet And Is Less Expressive And Will Remain The Same
KL Rahul remarked that he doesn’t need to change his personality due to outside chatter. He wants to continue being who he is and remain composed on the field.
Speaking about his personality, KL Rahul said: “I’m not a person who shows it, I’m not very expressive. People think, just because I’m quiet and don’t have too many expressions, that ‘may be he’s not passionate, may be he’s not aggressive’. Everybody is different. Everybody’s personality is different. Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves. This is who I’m, that is what I’ve always been and this is what I’ll continue to be.”
KL Rahul was also the Orange Cap winner by virtue of being the highest run-getter captaining Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2020 at UAE, where he amassed 670 runs at an average of 55.83. KL Rahul scored 659, 593, and 670 runs averaging above 50 in the last three IPL seasons.
India is set to take on England in the second ODI in Pune on March 26 and will look to clinch the series with a victory. India’s Shreyas Iyer is ruled out after suffering a shoulder injury while Rohit Sharma is doubtful for the next ODI. England skipper Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings are also doubtful.