Follow UsKL Rahul’s career has been a rollercoaster for the longest time. Even when he was at the peak of his prowess, suddenly, something or other would go awry. Sometimes, his comments like “strike rates were overrated” were not taken well by many fans - lending him a bittersweet character on social media memes.
It started to affect him so much that he did the “shutting down noise” celebration after landmark events and proclaimed multiple times that he didn’t care much about what was being said or written about him. However, Rahul, ahead of India’s encounter against England in his adopted home ground of Lucknow, admitted that it started to take a toll on his performance in the last year or so and taking his mind off what is being said or spoken about him was difficult.
“I have put a lot of effort into this. I tried to address it. Outside noise for a long time, I thought it wouldn't affect me, but in the last year or so, it started affecting me. And then, I realized that I would have to work on it. And when I got time, outside of the game, I tried to work on that side - mentally, you got to get a lot stronger, a lot more thick-skinned. So yeah, so that really helped me being away from the game,” Rahul said in Lucknow.
“There are specialists, batting specialists, bowling specialists; there are specialist mental coaches that you can really use and work on if you feel that it will help. So, I tried a bit of everything.”
One of the things that has taken social media by storm is the fielding medal presentation by fielding coach T Dillip and other coaches, and players were seen enjoying it so much. Rahul stated that it has helped them regroup as a unit, and everyone enjoys the banter during the event.
“I think that is just one thing that you are seeing or the fans outside are seeing; they are getting to see a version of cricketers that maybe they have not seen before, but one thing is that since I have returned to the team from Asia Cup, the environment has been such that everyone is enjoying cricket.
“Everyone is in a very happy state of mind. We know that whenever we cross the boundary line, there will be pressure. But the best thing we can do is outside of the field, still, try and enjoy ourselves and try to be as calm as possible. The atmosphere we're trying to create, and I think everyone must have realized after playing cricket, is the biggest thing that you need to keep outside - is the outside noise or pressure. In the World Cup or any big tournament or big match, the team that handles pressure better is the team that will more often than not win the game.
“So individually, we are all trying from our side that how we can be in that zone and yes, the fielding medal videos that you are watching, it is fun for us also, whatever happens, there is a lot of fun, there is a lot of banter. So, it is a good way to connect as a group as well,” Rahul added.
India have batted second in all five matches, and considering the kind of dominance they normally exude while chasing, it wasn’t surprising that they went on to win all five games. Rahul added that not batting first may cause some concern going forward.
“A little bit. I mean, not really gone too much into it. I think in one game, we did lose a toss and ended up bowling first as well. So, toss is not something that the captain or the team can control.
“So whatever opportunities we've gotten, we've done well, but again it's great if it will be a good opportunity if we get to bat first before the next stage and in the next four games; if we can get to bat first, it'll be a good challenge for us to just see how to pace the innings and it's been some time since we've batted first, so it will be useful for the team,” the Mangalore boy added.
In the absence of Rishabh Pant, Rahul has provided excellent support to the Indian team by keeping wickets. It has allowed India to play an extra batter or in some cases, an extra bowler. That Rahul has done that right after returning from an injury makes it worthwhile.
“During the process of getting fitter as well, I did focus a lot on wicketkeeping along with my batting. The medical team at the NCA felt like - with the kind of injury I had, the difficult part would be wicket-keeping more than the batting. The things that I've worked much harder is my fitness and my wicketkeeping. Then came batting, so it was in that order. So, I did work a lot on my wicket-keeping there. Even when I've come back here, I've spent a lot of time wicket-keeping. I feel like that requires a bit more time and effort from my side.
“It's as simple as any other skill. The more you do, the harder you work on it; you have the best chance to do well. I am taking wicket-keeping seriously because in India, in these conditions, it will be important to have your technique right, to have your glove work right and so I am trying to tick all of those boxes so I can do my best as a wicket-keeper as well,” Rahul added.