Despite not having played a competitive game since May, the selectors picked the hugely gifted KL Rahul in the World Cup squad on Tuesday.
Credit: PTI Photo
K L Rahul arrived at the Nondescripts Cricket Club with his head down - overhead headphones on obviously - after exiting the team bus in Colombo.
He held his bats close to avoid the steady drizzle which accompanied him and the team as they filed into the optional practice session at the indoor facility in the heart of Colombo.
The Karnataka batter, who linked up with the side on Tuesday, remained in that AirPods Max bubble for a while before engaging in a quick chat with Rahul David and then padding up alongside Hardik Pandya.
Out of his reverie, Rahul looked set, confident even, when facing a plethora of bowlers, most of whom were of left-arm quick variety.
Evidently, the team is working out an answer for Shaheen Afridi, and the others to a degree, ahead of India’s Super Four clash against Pakistan on September 10.
Besides Rahul and Hardik, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur went through their batting drills with Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour looking on.
But it was Rahul they were eagle-eyed about because the batter hadn’t played competitive cricket since May due to the surgery he had after tearing a tendon in his right thigh.
As for the session, Rahul began with a few throwdowns and batted in rotation with Iyer, and frankly, looked exceptional during his short stint. His nimble feet betrayed any signs of the injury, that’s not to say the problem can’t/ won’t reveal itself when/ if he begins to ‘keep.
He did look in good strides when he sprinted in one of the vacant nets by himself.
Gill, meanwhile, extended his session by a few minutes more to get his eyes set on throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne, but his focus, evidently, was on not falling over, increasing the chances of a leg before wicket. It’s a problem which has plagued him for a while, especially against Afridi, because his premature, prominent press-forward gets him in trouble.