KL Rahul scored a half-century in the tour game in Sri Lanka. (Source: Express Archive)
Indian batsman KL Rahul who is making a comeback in the Indian side after he was out of action for almost three months after sustaining shoulder injury is down with fever ahead of the team’s first Test match against Sri Lanka scheduled to begin from July 26 in Galle. The right-hander was back played the tour game and scored a half-century in the process.
While talking to BCCI.tv, Rahul said that he was nervous about his fitness. “You know that you are physically fit and you have done everything that you can, worked really hard, you are feeling stronger, you are feeling fitter,” Rahul told.
“But the mind always tells you what if it happens again, what if you have to go through the same grind for three months, what if your shoulder is not ready, what if you [have] come back early?,” added the right-handed batsman.
Earlier, on his return back in action, Rahul said that he hasn’t been happier in his life. “I haven’t been more happier ever in my life. It has been quite a tough time to be away from cricket, to be away from the thing that you love the most. To just sit at home and watch the boys playing, it was really hard for me. It did make me a lot stronger, made me value my life, my opportunities and here I am, back in,” Rahul said in an interview to BCCI.
“It feels good to be back holding the bat and hitting the ball to the boundary. It was a good day today for the boys and I had a good hit out in the middle. And it has been a while since I have been in the middle. So yes, every opportunity that I get in the middle before the Test series starts will be valuable for me. I tried to make the most of it and I am very happy.”
India will play three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I in Sri Lanka. Earlier, Murali Vijay pulled out of the series after complaining about pain in his right wrist after a preparatory match. He has been replaced by Shikhar Dhawan.
India’s Squad:
Virat Kohli (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, K. L. Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt.), Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, W Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav and Abhinav Mukund.
