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[Saba Sports News] In a remarkable display of resilience, KL Rahul overcame challenges on the challenging SuperSport Park pitch in Centurion during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, scoring a masterful century. Despite facing criticism and trolling on social media for his inconsistent performances, Rahul’s recent form, following his return from thigh surgery earlier this year, has won him accolades.
Rahul reflected on his journey, emphasizing how his injury-induced break allowed him to work on his mental strength and calmness. He focused on self-improvement, aiming to remain unaffected by external pressures and stay true to his personality. Rahul said, “I worked on myself and worked on remaining calmer and taking care of what’s happening inside my head.”
He also shared his perspective on handling social media, stating that performance is the best shield against negativity. Acknowledging the impact of public opinion, Rahul admitted that it’s challenging to balance one’s personality against the demands and scrutiny of international cricket.
“There’s no point expressing myself on social media. People who want to say things will still say it. What I have realized is that in sport, if you are in the public eye, your performance is the only way you can stay away from negative comments. What I try to do is focus on my game and performance. The farther you stay from these things, the better,” Rahul added.
Additionally, Rahul discussed the advantages of batting in the middle order, explaining how it requires adaptability to the situation at hand. He enjoys the challenge of Centurion’s pitch, finding a balance between caution and aggression to be crucial for success.
“It’s difficult. You have a personality and have certain personality traits and characteristics, and all that gets challenged when you are playing international cricket. As a person, as a cricketer, as an individual you are challenged each day, each moment. There’s social media pressure like you [reporter] said. Today people are praising me but three-four months ago, they were going after me. It’s all part of the game but I won’t say that it doesn’t affect me. “The sooner you realize that staying away from these things is beneficial for your game and mindset, the better it is. You can perform better if you know where to draw the line. Nobody is that great that they can completely avoid [overlook] the criticism they are getting. Anyone who says it doesn’t affect them at all I’m sure is lying.”
Rahul’s approach to batting and handling the pressures of international cricket highlights the complexity of the sport and the mental fortitude required to excel in it.
“Batting in the middle order, what I’ve realized is that you can’t really plan your innings all that much. When you walk in, there’s a situation in front of you [and] the situation in the game tells you how you need to play and what you need to do at that time and in that moment. That’s what I tried to do. I try to walk in with a very free and empty mindset when I’m batting in the middle order, see what the game demands of me and try to do my best in that moment.
Yesterday and today, the situation was quite clear that I’m batting with the tail and I need to take my chances and try to score as many runs as I can. It came off so I am happy,” Rahul said.