2026 WC Is On My Mind: Dynamic India Batter Getting Ready For T20I Return

KL Rahul has been criticised for his slow batting in the T20 format for some time now. Strike rates of 146.1, 113.2, 135.4, 138.8 and 129.3 in the last five Indian Premier League (IPL) despite being consistently amongst the top scorers clearly weren’t enough to merit a place in the Indian side. 

Hence, it didn’t come as a surprise when Rahul wasn’t part of the Indian team that lifted the T20 World Cup in 2024. However, India’s dynamic batter, who has batted all through the batting order in white ball cricket, is gearing up for his return in India’s T20I side with the T20 World Cup in 2026 scheduled to be in India. 

Rahul seems really serious about grabbing that opportunity as he just had a spectacular season with the Delhi Capitals in 2025, where he scored 539 runs at an average of 53.9 while striking at 149.7. He admitted that recently, in an interview with Nasser Hussain for Sky Sports. 

“Yes, I want to get back in the T20 team and the World Cup is in my mind, but for now it's just trying to enjoy how I'm playing right now,” Rahul told Hussain.

So what pushed Rahul to change his game, considering he was the one who made the infamous comment about strike rates being overrated?

“I obviously had some time to think about my white-ball game and white-ball cricket; I was quite happy with my performances and where I was,” Rahul added.  

“But [there] was a time probably 15 months ago or 12 months ago where I realised that the game is slightly getting ahead or it's changing and becoming much more faster, and I said this in an interview as well, that it's become more about the team that hits more boundaries is winning the games more often than the team that's, I can't say playing smarter, but the team that doesn't hit as many boundaries is always finding themselves on the losing side.

"So that's where white-ball cricket is getting, and I haven't been part of the T20 team in the last couple of years. [That's] given me some time to think about my T20 game as well. 

"So, overall, just sitting and thinking about where I can get better, where the game's gone and what I need to do to catch up with the game and what can I do to perform and get back in the T20 team, what can I do to become an important player for my team in ODI and T20 overall in white-ball cricket.”

Rahul went behind the scenes and worked really hard on his new T20 game, along with the likes of Abhishek Nayar, who was with the Indian team for a brief period. 

"Just sitting and thinking about these things, I've come up with certain things obviously with the help of coaches that I've worked with. Abhishek Nayar is one of the guys I've worked with in the last 12 months quite a lot,” Rahul admitted. 

“He's come into the Indian team as a batting coach [but has been removed since] so I spent a lot of time with him and he really helped in helping me change my thinking and helping me work on my game."

While DC are already eliminated from the playoffs, Rahul was the leading run scorer for them this season.