Rahul said he was frustrated over lack of opportunities in Test cricket despite travelling with the squad since the tour of Australia last year.
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Indian batter KL Rahul said that he was relieved after finally getting a chance to play Test cricket for the national team. The Indian team is currently taking on England in a five-match Test series. The first Test concluded on Monday but it was called a tie as rain prevented play on Day 5. Had conditions remained clear, India would have won the match on paper. Rahul was quite good with the bat at the top of the order in the first Test. The opener said that he was frustrated due to the limited opportunities that came his way in Test cricket after the series against Australia in 2020.
The Nottingham Test match against England was the first time Rahul played the longest format of the game at the international level since August 2019. He was the opener in the match for India alongside Rohit Sharma. Rahul made a solid score in the first innings accumulating an impressive 84 runs. His innings would prove to be crucial as India’s big guns, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane failed to deliver.
It looked at one point that India were on course for another massive batting collapse, but Rahul held the innings in place with his steady knock. It was unfortunate that he could not reach his century. The batsman was part of the historic India tour of Australia but he could not play a game. Rahul was not selected for the first three Tests and suffered a wrist injury that forced him to travel back home before the fourth Test.
Initially, the cricketer was looked at as a middle-order batter who could fill in as a wicket-keeper if anything happened to Rishabh Pant. However, injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal caused Rahul to play as an opener, and it would not be wrong to believe that he has started to cement his place at the top of the order.
“From the last 2-3 series (away vs Australia and vs England in India), I have been sitting outside. The team was doing really well and I was very happy to be part of the team and seeing how we were beating teams in India and then Australia,” Rahul said after the conclusion of the first Test on Sunday.
“So it was great to be part of it, but also very frustrating that opportunities weren’t coming. It was only practice, practise and practise and as a player you want to be in the middle and want to challenge yourself, so I kept waiting for my opportunity, so I am very happy that it came in England,” he added. “I was just looking forward to it and I am happy that opportunity came and in the first match and I gave a good contribution for the team,” he concluded.
The cricketer also expressed his surprise at questions pertaining to the ‘comeback’ of pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Rahul was adamant that the pacer has always been a match-winner for the national side.
“Every time, in every game, in every condition he has proved himself and he is our number one bowler. We are happy that he is doing what he is (has) been doing since he started playing Test cricket. Wherever he has played, he has been a match-winner for us. We are happy that he has done once again, what he does best,” he said.
