Relieved to break the century-jinx, says KL Rahul

KL Rahul stroked a brilliant century in the first T20I against England, which has cemented his spot at the top order in both the limited-overs teams. With the extreme competition that exists these days, one has to break the selectors’ doors rather than just knocking it. Rahul currently is doing the exact same, following a brilliant IPL campaign with this scintillating hundred.

Incidentally, that hundred from Rahul put an end to a drought. Rahul had failed to convert fifties to centuries for more than 18 months, which in a way lost him a place in the limited overs side. Talking to the press after that Manchester game, he said he was aware of the century-drought and was happy to break that jinx.

“Trust me I know (it had been 564 days). Quite honestly I didn’t know what to make of it, whether I was in form or out of form. I kept getting the fifties and was getting out. I was batting well, but somehow I couldn’t get to the three-figure mark so it was quite frustrating. Being in and out of the team, injuries, and sickness, it all was playing on my mind and kept frustrating me even more,” said Rahul ahead of the second T20I.

Kuldeep and Chahal are making up for Bumrah’s absence

Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the T20I series due to an injury and that really was a huge blow. Bumrah has been performing exceedingly well in the last 12 months and his absence, according to many, was set to haunt Kohli and company.

But Rahul felt that the team has been preparing well for the big tour and the way they performed against Ireland gave them a perfect start for this marathon. He also heaped praises on Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and said that the duo is in a way making up for the absence of Bumrah.

“Our preparations have been good. We got what we wanted in Ireland as well and we are enjoying our journey right now. Hope we continue this in the upcoming matches. Wrist spinners like Kuldeep and Chahal can be difficult for any opposition. It was special from Kuldeep to pick a fifer as it is difficult to pick wickets in a T20I format. Not having Jasprit Bumrah in the XI is a big loss but the Kuldeep and Chahal are bowling, they going to be very dangerous throughout the tour,” Rahul opined.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.