"The anxiety was when I hit 30, I could see the end of the tunnel" - KL Rahul opens up on nearing the finish line of his career
Team India batter KL Rahul recently opened up about dealing with anxiety as he reached 30 and could see the end of his cricket playing career. The Karnataka-born cricketer turned 32 earlier this year and remains a key cog in the Indian Test and ODI lineups.
However, his time in T20Is has seemingly ended, considering India's triumph in the recent T20 World Cup without him.
Speaking about the short shelf life of an athlete, Rahul stated on Nikhil Kamath's YouTube channel:
"There is a fear and realisation that the shelf life is really small for an athlete, and you need to make the most of it within whatever time you have. For me, the anxiety was when I hit 30. I could see the end of the tunnel. Till I was 29, I could not see that."
He added:
"Some weird thing happened on my 30th birthday. I could see I have 10 more years to play cricket, and that gave me anxiety, and that is the first time I felt like 'This comes to an end at some point.' All I have done all my life is 'Cricket, Cricket, Cricket,' without imagining this comes to an end. Now I can see it. It is not too far away."
KL Rahul debuted for India in 2014 and has played a massive role in the side's domination across formats over the past decade.
The stylish batter has scored almost 8000 international runs with 17 centuries and 54 half-centuries in 199 outings.
"If you are fit enough, you can play till 40" - KL Rahul
![Rahul enjoyed a terrific 2023 ODI World Cup campaign with the willow [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/08/1af03-17247603388827-1920.jpg?w=500)
KL Rahul admitted that even with peak fitness, a player can extend his international career only until he turns 40.
The 32-year-old last played for India in the disastrous 2-0 ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka. He registered scores of 31 and 0 in the first two ODIs before being left out of the 11 for the series finale.
"There is no insecurity, but there is a feeling that all this ends, and for me it ends very quickly. If you are fit enough, you can play till 40. That is the maximum someone has played. Yes, there is MS Dhoni, who is 43 and is still playing. You can play the IPL and all of that, but not at the international level for too long," said Rahul.
Rahul will be back in action playing for Team A in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, starting September 5.