“That was very painful,” KL Rahul confesses he was perplexed by brutal criticism while dealing with rough patch

He acknowledged that though he was playing some bad cricket, he wasn't able to understand why he was heavily criticized.

“That was very painful,” KL Rahul confesses he was perplexed by brutal criticism while dealing with rough patch

KL Rahul (Image via X)

When India were tethering at 2-3 in two overs while facing Australia in their 2023 ODI World Cup opener, KL Rahul produced a performance that displayed why he was not ignored by the selectors for the quadrennial tournament despite dealing with a lean patch for a long time earlier this year. After leading India to a six-wicket victory with his unbeaten 97 runs on Sunday (October 8) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Rahul opened up about dealing with criticism.

For him, it was very painful while recovering from an injury he suffered during the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year. He acknowledged that though he was playing some bad cricket, he wasn’t able to understand why he was heavily criticized.

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“There was a lot of criticism, people were commenting on my performance in every match and situation, and I wasn’t able to understand why it was happening, because my performance wasn’t that bad,” Rahul said while speaking exclusively to Star Sports show Follow the Blues.

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KL Rahul reveals what motivated him to recover from injury quickly

The goal of getting a spot for himself in the 15-member squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup kept KL Rahul motivated and when he recovered, the management showed faith in him to include him in the squad as a middle-order batter. He started with a bang and Indian fans started expecting much more from him in the tournament.

"That was very painful," KL Rahul confesses he was perplexed by brutal criticism while dealing with rough patch
KL Rahul (Image via X)

“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,” he said.

Rahul’s heroics, plus Virat Kohli‘s patient knock of 85 runs led India to a six-wicket victory against the Aussies while chasing 200 runs. India will be playing their next match of the World Cup on October 11 in New Delhi against Afghanistan.

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