'It was different this time': KL Rahul explains recovery process from Injury - WATCH

India and Pakistan are currently locking horns against each other in the Super 4 stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. The match is taking place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pakistan won the bat and elected to bowl first. Indian openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma provided a solid start with a 100-run partnership. They were removed by Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi respectively. Meanwhile, India went into the game with two changes as KL Rahul came in place of Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah for Mohammed Shami. 

3 things you need to know

• India and Pakistan are playing their Super 4 match of the Asia Cup in Colombo
• KL Rahul has returned to the Indian playing XI in place of Shreyas Iyer
• Rahul is coming back from injury and his performance will be closely monitored

Also Read: Straight Replacement: Irfan Pathan Drops In-form Batter For KL Rahul For Clash Vs PAK

KL Rahul explains his recovery process

KL Rahul has provided insight into why his recent injury recovery process differed from previous ones in his career. Rahul embarked on a challenging road to recovery after sustaining a significant hamstring injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May 2023, which sidelined him from the sport for an extended period of time. The severity of the injury necessitated surgery on his right thigh. During an interview with the BCCI, Rahul shared the reasons behind the unique nature of his injury recovery experience. 

"Quite strange this time, the other times that I've had surgery or injuries, you know, I find myself really being very bored, not knowing what to do or not having any motivation to you know, wake up and go and do physio. It's really boring. It's frustrating and you get lazy after the point in time. But this time that didn't happen. I don't know what it was, but I always found the motivation to go and do the boring stuff this time, this period of being away from the game to just, you know, not really be desperate about anything," Rahul said.

"I just wanted to enjoy the process of even doing physio something as boring as physio, which is not as rewarding as playing a game of cricket. But, you know, I try to enjoy each part of each day as it comes, and I think that made it really easy and in a way, I feel like I've been away for four months, but it didn't feel like it was a long time. It went by really, really quickly," he added.

Also Read: 'It Was A Big Downer': KL Rahul Discloses Main Reason Behind His Delayed Return

KL Rahul's road to recovery

As part of his rehabilitation journey, Rahul devoted substantial time to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, where he engaged in match simulations and practice games to demonstrate his fitness. However, just before the announcement of the squad for the Asia Cup 2023, he encountered a minor setback, causing him to miss the first two group-stage matches of the tournament.

Nevertheless, he underwent a reassessment on September 4 and successfully obtained his fitness clearance before joining the Indian team in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for the remainder of the Asia Cup. Rahul has been picked to play in the ongoing match against arch-rivals Pakistan. He came into the playing XI in place of Shreyas Iyer, who has been ruled out due to back spasms.  

Image: PTI