KL Rahul looking forward to the Sri Lanka tour after a hiatus of four months

After a long hiatus, opener Lokesh Rahul is finally fit as a fiddle for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. During the injury phase, the 24-year-old missed the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League in which he would’ve represented Royal Challengers Bangalore, and also missed the subsequent ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which would have been his first ICC trophy if he was fit. Rahul will be back to playing international cricket after a period of four months.

The Indian opener said that missing tournament because of injuries is natural for any cricketer but IPL being such a huge craze in India, and the Champions Trophy being such a grand stage, he regrets the timing of the injury. He missed the West Indies tour as well, which could have been a good opportunity for him to settle down in international cricket after a long break, especially since the opponent was a lesser ranked ODI side.

“Missing tournaments due to injury is a part and parcel of the game for a player. Of course, 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. It could have been a big moment in my career, I was looking forward to play in the Champions Trophy. It is a little bit frustrating,” Rahul told IANS.

A mental and emotional challenge

The Karnataka batsman, whose shoulder injury aggravated during the Australia series in India in February said that he had to work very hard to regain complete fitness and is looking forward to stamp his authority in Sri Lanka.

“It’s been around three months that I had the surgery for my shoulder injury. I have worked hard to recover and attain the required fitness to get back to international cricket and give my best at the Sri Lanka series. It has been challenging not just physically but also mentally and emotionally,” he added.

“To be at home and not do anything is frustrating. Now I have taken care of my recovery to come back stronger,” Rahul concluded.