I Wasn't Able To Understand Why It Was Happening: KL Rahul Opens Up On Facing Unwanted Criticism
ODI World Cup 2023: In India's opening match against Australia, the 31-year-old showed off his free-flowing form by hitting an unbeaten 97 to lead his team to a six-wicket victory in a tight match.
KL Rahul, the wicketkeeper-batter for India, has acknowledged that he finds the criticism he receives hurtful and confusing, particularly when his performance isn't all that poor.
Rahul, who had a thigh injury during the IPL in May and missed months of play, made his Asia Cup debut last month, finishing as the team's third-highest run scorer.
"I received a lot of criticism, with people making comments about how I performed in each match and circumstance. I couldn't figure out why it was occurring because I didn't do too poorly. That was quite painful, then. Rahul stated to "Star Sports."
Rahul scored a century and amassed 169 runs in three innings at a commendable average of 84.50 and strike rate of 89.41, following his absence from the first two Asia Cup matches due to a niggle.
"I have experienced the agony of suffering an injury and the time it takes to recover. In addition, I sustained an injury during the Indian Premier League, and when I learned I would be out for four to five months, I was also unsure about my chances of playing in the World Cup. Thus, that was a really trying period."
The 31-year-old showed off his effortless form in India's opening World Cup match against Australia, as he amassed an undefeated 97 runs in a crucial six-wicket victory.
Speaking about how he prepared for his comeback, particularly with the World Cup in mind, he disclosed that his motivation came from the desire to compete at home.
"I was aware of and comprehended the procedure beforehand. I was quite upbeat as well, and my primary driving force was to return before the World Cup in order to take part in this domestic competition," he continued.
"We were preparing for a lot of time keeping this in mind, and every morning, I have been waking up thinking we need to win the World Cup, and that has been my only motivation."
"Every day in the morning that's what got me out of bed and pushed me to do the boring work in the gym, and that tells you how special it is to me and everybody."
"Playing a home world cup is a dream for a cricketer and is special to all cricketers, so yeah, I'm pretty excited," he said.