KL Rahul prepares himself for the 5th Test with a hardcore workout session

For opener KL Rahul, cricket has been a cruel leveller this summer. After a good Indian Premier League (IPL) edition and a banging beginning to the England tour with a hundred in the first T20I, the 26-year-old has only seen a sorrowful slide since. He could be on the verge of omission from the playing XI in the fifth and final Test starting Friday. Rahul on Thursday came up with an act which was aimed at recovering his dented image but it backfired with the cricketer getting trolled more.

Rahul could manage just 113 runs in eight innings in four Tests he played in England this series, three as the opener, and the demand for his ouster has only stronger. There is a good clamour now to replace him with teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw, who was picked in the squad in place of Murali Vijay for the last two Tests, at the Oval. We have to wait for some more time to know whether the 26-year-old indeed faces the axe.

Fall 7 times, Stand up 8

However, sensing the anger of the fans who blasted him for positing a stylish picture on Twitter a few days ago despite a poor form, Rahul came up a video on Twitter showing him sweating it out at the gym. He gave the video’s caption as: “Fall 7 times, Stand up 8! Ain’t ever gonna be different. Keep Working hard and move Forward” and it is accompanied by the ‘Soldier’ song by American rapper Eminem.

Here is the video of his workout:

Some fans mocked him saying he has already fallen eight times in the series while another said he was supposed to play cricket and not WWE.

Rahul, who had his best show in the third Test at Trent Bridge scoring 23 and 36, fell for a duck in the crucial chase of 245 in the fourth Test in Southampton which India had to win to keep the series alive.

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