For KL Rahul, the last 4-5 months have been nothing short of a nightmare. The Karnataka star had sealed his place as an opener in the Test team after starring for India in the home season. 6 half-centuries in the fiercely-fought Border-Gavaskar series had given his career the much-needed impetus before a disastrous shoulder injury dashed his hopes of making the most of the form.
He had to undergo surgery on the shoulder and consequently missed the entire Indian Premier League and the Champions Trophy which would have been his first ICC tournament. But leaving behind all the setbacks, the 25-year old recovered quicker than expected and was named in the squad for the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. The long injury layoff did not hamper his form as he hit the ground running, scoring a 58-ball 54 in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka Board President’s XI. But he was once again pegged back by fitness as a viral fever ruled him out of the series-opener at Galle.
But the right-handed batsman finally returned to the playing eleven and scored a fluent 57 on day one before an unfortunate run-out ended his hopes of scoring big in the comeback match. The batsman, nevertheless, is ‘really happy’ to finally return to the team.
“Not being able to play cricket was tough, but once I am back I am really happy; and even happier I could start off with a fifty and make some contribution to the team,” said Rahul at the post-day conference.
“I have been injured a few times, which is very unfortunate and which is very disappointing. But each time I have come back, I have come back more hungry. It’s (injuries) kind of taught me to value my position, value my opportunities each time I go out to the middle. I enjoy it and play it like it is my last game. That’s something that has really worked for me,” he added.
Speaking about how he felt seeing his teammates doing well while he was sitting on the sidelines, the opener said:
“When you are sitting out and when you are seeing your teammates doing well, you do feel very happy but you also feel disappointed that it’s not you in that position doing the job for the country. Whatever time I have spent away from the game, I have watched the guys batting. Not just our guys but I watch a lot of cricket, I see the guys and see what they are doing right and I try to bring that into my game.”
Rahul further rued his injury-marred career so far.
“It’s a big challenge, very unfortunate I had to sit out for so long. At such a young age how do you keep yourself positive, how do you keep yourself focused, and still motivated to come back as soon as you can… but the minute I walked out to the middle, I was very happy, more than anything else. Whether I did well or didn’t, it didn’t matter because I was very happy,” he said.
While the 57-run knock will please Rahul, the failure to convert the half-centuries into a century will surely bother him. It was his sixth consecutive fifty and seventh in eight innings.
“Disappointing that I have not been able to convert that, but that will keep me more hungry. Each time I go back to bat, I will want to get more and more runs. I’m learning from my mistakes. Each time I’ve done a silly mistake and that’s how it is,” Rahul said.
India, meanwhile, finished day one on 344 for 3 with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane leading the charge with unbeaten centuries. Pujara was unbeaten on 128 while Rahane was playing on 103.