A day before the start of South Africa T20I series, KL Rahul, who was to lead India In the absence of rested Rohit Sharma, got injured and ruled out of all five matches. A week later, he was also ruled out of the tour of England, where India were to play a Test, which was followed by six white-ball matches.
Frustrated, Rahul decides to use the layoff to undergo a surgery for a sports hernia in Germany which further accelerates his rehabilitation.
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After this he was selected in the Indian team for the West Indies tour. And a few days back, Rahul tested positive for Covid-19, which put an end to his hopes of a comeback.
On Thursday, he finally took to the field in India colors – his first competitive match in nearly three months. The joy of returning to international cricket was palpable on his face but Rahul admitted that that period hit him ‘really hard’.
“We play a lot of cricket and injuries are going to be a part of it,” Rahul said during a post-match presentation after beating Zimbabwe in the first ODI on Thursday.
“It is really difficult to be away from the game. It is a tough time and we worked together (Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar and Rahul) in Bangalore.
Along with Rahul, pacer Deepak Chahar also made a comeback after a long recovery which saw him sitting on the sidelines for almost six months.
“For some of us, it is great to be back in the Indian dressing room. We are in good form as a team, it is good to see that we all are getting enough playing time. It feels good to be out there,” said Rahul.
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Rahul is leading India in the three-match series, in which India are now 1-0 up after dominating Harare by 10 wickets. He won the toss and opted to bowl correctly as India’s fast bowlers generated swing to trouble the Zimbabwe batsmen.
“There was a bit of swing and seam movement too, but it was nice to see the bowlers being disciplined and picking up those wickets,” said Rahul.
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