KL Rahul targets Sri Lanka series for Team India comeback
What’s the story
Injured Team India star KL Rahul has said that he is aiming to get fit in time to play the Sri Lanka series later this year. The 25-year old, in an interaction with the PTI, stated that:
"It's been just a month that I had this surgery. It will take some more time, maybe two months to recover and attain the required fitness to get back to international cricket. So aiming for sometime in August for a comeback, probably can make a comeback for the Sri Lanka series. I miss playing cricket, being part of the IPL, it is the biggest tournament in India and the Champions Trophy, would have been the first world (ICC) tournament that I would have played"
In case you didn’t know…
KL Rahul injured his shoulder during the India-England series in December last year but played out the following series against Australia this year. The right-hander, however, decided to give the Indian Premier League a miss, opting out of the entire tournament for his franchise, the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He later ruled himself out of the Champions Trophy as well.
The heart of the matter
He revealed that he was looking forward to being part of the Champions Trophy, which would have been his first ICC tournament and conceded that he was a bit frustrated at failing to recover in time for the same. He also stated that missing tournaments due to injury is part of the game, and vowed to come back stronger than before.
He also said that he was disappointed for the players after the RCB’s poor performance in this IPL. While they finished as finalists in 2016, they were left languishing at the bottom of the points tally this time around.
What’s next?
Out of the Champions Trophy, KL Rahul will have to wait for his time before he can return to the Indian team. He had recently stated that he would require three months to gain full fitness, and his pinpointed on the series in August to finally make the much-awaited comeback.
Author’s Take
Rahul will be sorely missed by the Indian team as they travel to England to defend the Champions Trophy, especially because the 25-year old was in good nick before being forced out due to injury. However, given that he has had a history of injuries, it is imperative that he gets completely fit and fits into the Indian team that embarks on a new journey post the Champions Trophy.
Watch: KL Rahul’s century against the West Indies in Florida, 2016