The beleaguered KL Rahul is seeking to use the next IPL as a vehicle to stage a comeback to the Indian T20I side as he wants to remain involved in all three formats of the game. The 32-year-old is in line to open the innings if skipper Rohit Sharma does not play in the first Test of the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at Perth.
Rahul’s form has been a cause of concern for the Indian team as he was recently dropped for the last two Tests against New Zealand at home with Sarfaraz Khan replacing him. But the batter, who is pleasing to watch when in full flow, remains unperturbed by his lean run of form.
“My aim is to obviously get back into the T20 team. I’ve always wanted to be an all-format player, and that desire and drive haven’t changed over the years. I want to still play for India in all three formats and have done that for many years,” Rahul told Star Sports.
“I’ve been out of the T20 team for a while, and I know where I stand as a player and what I need to do to get back. So, I look forward to this IPL season to give me that platform to enjoy my cricket and play the way I want to,” he added.
Since 2022, he has scored 514 runs in Tests from 12 matches (21 innings) at an average of 25.7, having registered three half-centuries and a century. During the interaction, Rahul emphasised on always keeping the team ahead of his individual aspirations.
“All of us as players want to play with freedom, and everyone would think that the way I batted, I’m enjoying playing that. But like I said, my thought process and motivation have always been team first. It doesn’t matter what I want to do or what my natural game is.
“We play a team sport. If I played tennis, it would be different; I could stick to saying, ‘This is my natural game.’ But in a team sport, it’s very different. Each game, you’ll have a different role and responsibility given to you to find a way to deliver for the team,” he said.
The Bengaluru man’s last Test hundred was against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023 and since then made just two fifties in nine innings.
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