'What if I become slower and don't have the same cover drive?' - KL Rahul reveals he had nightmares during lockdown

After the COVID-19 hiatus, all cricket stars are set to brace the field in the much-awaited IPL 2020, slated to be hosted in UAE from September 19th. All India players were last seen in action during their New Zealand tour where they suffered defeats in ODI and Test series after triumphing in T20Is.

India were also going to lock horns with South Africa in a series but the ODI affair was subsequently called off in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Since then, all Indian players including KL Rahul were confined to their homes amid the global pandemic. It was a difficult task for players to discontinue something which they’ve been doing for several years.

KL Rahul, during the lockdown, had occasional nightmares about him losing his batting skills. In a recent interview with the Indian Express, the Karnataka lad opened up on his lockdown ‘nightmares’ while being away from the sport for a considerable amount of time.

Rahul is all set to lead Kings XI Punjab in this year’s IPL and the skipper revealed that he had nightmares about losing his batting ability during the lockdown timeframe. However, after hitting the nets post lockdown, he started feeling better with time. Rahul also highlighted that he batted very badly in his first batting session, making him wary of his fear turning into reality.

“Couple of nights, I had nightmares. I woke up with the feeling, ‘oh s**t, what if I can’t pick line and length of the ball? What if I become slower? What if I don’t have the same cover drive as before?’ All these question marks were there. And the first session didn’t help: all those fears came true. I batted so badly in that session it was scary. But after three sessions, I started to feel better and it made me happy,” said the skipper of the Punjab franchise.

KL Rahul was appointed as KXIP skipper in December 2019

Over the past few months, Rahul has cemented his place behind the stumps in the limited-overs format. Surpassing an inconsistent Rishabh Pant, Rahul is now considered as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in ODIs and T20Is. Along with the glovework, he has also delivered with his willow.

28-year-old Rahul also said that he is ready to mould in any role according to the Indian side’s needs. He also mentioned that he loves wicketkeeping and it’s a good place to be in the middle to get an idea about what’s happening on the field. Rahul is also expected to don the wicketkeeper’s gloves in the upcoming IPL edition.

“I enjoyed whatever challenge was thrown at me for the last seven-eight months. Be it playing a different role or to bat at any position. Whatever the team needs me to do, I will do it.

Yes, I will love to do wicketkeeping. We have so many options of wicketkeeper-batsmen if I feel I need more time or need to be on the field to manage. Standing behind the stumps is a good way to do it as one gets a full 360-degree view, it’s easy to know what is happening. It’s a good place to be,” said Rahul.