Happy I could tick off all boxes - KL Rahul on his return to the Indian team

Indian cricket team star KL Rahul expressed his excitement on returning to the national team fold, having had to go under the knife to repair a tendon tear that kept him out of action for more than three months. 

Rahul, who picked up the tear during IPL 2023, was named in India’s Asia Cup squad despite carrying a small niggle during the course of his recovery from injury, and the right-hander had to stay back at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to become fully match-fit before he rejoined the Indian team in Sri Lanka for the six-team tournament. 

Having missed India’s Asia Cup group stage fixtures, Rahul is back in contention for a spot in the India XI ahead of the much-anticipated Super Four clash against Pakistan. 

In an interview with BCCI.tv, Rahul spoke about his return to the team and how he feels ahead of a crucial couple of months, which includes India’s campaign in the World Cup 2023.

Rahul said, “I am feeling good, obviously good to be back with the team. It’s been quite some time that I’ve been away from the game but happy to be back. Everything worked right on schedule so I’m happy I could tick off all the boxes.”

The stylish right-hander also detailed the extent of his injury and said, “Obviously it’s quite painful but it’s also quite simple. I tried to chase a ball and my tendon snapped. I had a full fledged tear, my tendon ripped apart from my quadricep. We knew the minute we saw the scan, I mean not me, I’m not an expert, the physios knew right away that surgery was the only way and that was the route we had to take.”

While Rahul’s return is certainly a boost to the squad, it remains to be seen as to how he is slotted into the XI, with Ishan Kishan - India’s wicket-keeper batter - having put in quite a few impressive performances in the recent past.