10 minutes prior to the 2023 Asia Cup India-Pakistan clash in Colombo, KL Rahul didn’t even know that he was going to feature in the playing XI. However, untimely back spasms of his compatriot, Shreyas Iyer, provided a timely opportunity to the Indian wicketkeeper-batter.
His last competitive match was way back on 1 May, wherein he injured his right quadricep and was sidelined for four months. Then, after recuperating from his initial troubles, he suffered a groin niggle in August.
In what was his comeback match on Sunday, the 31-year-old went on to demonstrate why he is a great fit for India's middle order by bringing up a valiant ton in the marquee contest.
Moreover, despite facing some of world's fiercest pacers, and not having smelled the leather for a while, not once did he look uncomfortable at the crease. Rahul made his intentions clear on the first day of the match when he attacked Pakistan’s pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf for boundaries.
“I was a little nervous initially but as I started facing a few balls I felt alright,” he admitted, while talking to reporters after the match.
Two days later, when the wicketkeeper batter came out to bat against Sri Lanka, he looked even more assured, collected, and settled. Although he was unable to convert the start into a significant score, his batting made it evident that he is ready for the big stage.
“I was thinking that I will be in the playing 11 and that’s how I prepared. I was confident that I can still go there and do the job,” he stated, after India’s 41-run triumph over Sri Lanka.
Rahul has consistently been a reliable middle-order batter in this format. With a strike rate of 97.91 and an average of 64.68 across 21 innings, which include three hundreds and seven fifties, put him well ahead of the next-best player, Shreyas Iyer, who has 797 runs to his credit.
Not only did he bat well, but Rahul also donned the wicketkeeping gloves in the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India will be hoping his form extends to the World Cup as well.
“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,” he revealed.
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