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DRS indicated that the ball would be absent. Dean Elgar was not lbw anymore. India was enraged. KL Rahul spoke into the stump mike, “Whole country against 11 guys.” He has no cause to believe that shadowy powers are at work.
It’s simply too simple in life to believe that everything is against you. Rahul received regular notifications on his social media pages about it. And he was obviously unable to ignore them, even though he knew that was the best course of action. He created a century celebration that, in a way, gave them power because, although he was using his hands to cover his ears to demonstrate that he was blocking out the noise, it was also evidence that he had heard it and had been fixated on it.
Rahul is really passionate about cricket. He recently talked about how reaching 30 meant he was getting closer to the end of his game and would no longer be able to fulfil the mission he had set for himself, which threw him into an existential crisis. Perhaps the reason it struck him so deeply is that he is aware of unresolved matters.
Rahul is really passionate about cricket. He recently talked about how reaching 30 meant he was getting closer to the end of his game and would no longer be able to fulfil the mission he had set for himself, which threw him into an existential crisis. Perhaps the reason it struck him so deeply is that he is aware of unresolved matters.
It reminds me of the late 2010s, when he looked like he was about to step up, reeling off over fifty scores as if they were two-time tables, but instead he collapsed, losing his sense of where his off stump was and getting double-counted on the inside and outside edges. In the period from January 2018 to August 2019, he only scored two fifty or more. Of those 27 innings, he failed to reach 30 in 19.
He was so intimidated by the outswinger in England that he once altered his strategy in the middle of a game, adding a shuffle to his crease set-up. He continued to pursue wide delivery in Australia. After returning home, he reasoned that he may perform better if he postponed his shots and didn’t commit too soon. But now that the bowlers were aiming for his stumps, he was hitting the ball down too late to avert their strikes.
In order to feel more at ease at the crease, he simply needed to get out of his own thoughts and finish those opening few innings. Only then, when he’s at ease and calm, could his training begin to pay off. As it did on a foggy Boxing Day in December 2023 in Centurion.
Rahul was being pushed through a lot and the only way he was going to survive was if he let go just a bit, if he lived just a little. By this point, he had already experienced the sting of the axe, the thrill of captaining his country, and multiple, frequently unexpected, injuries.
It is true that unrealised potential rarely has greater room for unrealization, and when considering Rahul’s work over the course of ten years, it paints the clearest picture of a guy at the height of his midlife. Furthermore, India faces the danger of alienating the next group of batters to come through domestic cricket if they continue to rely on him.
Here’s the problem, though. India has moved forward from its past. When they discovered Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, they moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. After they located Mohammed Siraj, they forgot about Ishant Sharma. However, they are still unable to let go of Rahul.
“The guy’s got the talent,” Rohit said, “He’s got the game to play spin and seam. So, I don’t see any reason why he can’t flourish in Test cricket. Obviously, the opportunities are there now. Obviously, spending so much time in international cricket, it’s for him also to understand now how he wants to take his career forward.”