Team India wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul made a surprising comment on his retirement during the five-match T20 series against New Zealand. Rahul said he did not think retirement would be too difficult when the time came, adding that there was no point in dragging out a career beyond its natural end.
Rahul is currently a part of India’s ODI and Test team. He last played for India in the home ODI series against New Zealand, where they lost 2–1. Rahul will next be playing in domestic cricket as he is set to play for Karnataka in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy match against Punjab, starting from January 29 in Mohali.
Don’t think it’s going to be that difficult – KL Rahul on retirement
In a video released on The Switch YouTube channel, during a conversation with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, KL Rahul said that the thought of retirement does not scare him. Rahul said that the biggest challenge in times of injury is not physical pain but mental struggle.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult. If you are honest with yourself, the time has come. And there is no point in dragging it out. Obviously, I am some time away. There have been times when I have been injured and I have been injured many times and that is the toughest battle you have to face,” Rahul said.
He said, “It is not the pain that the physio puts you through or the surgeon gives you pain. It is the mental battle where your mind gives up. You know, when it happens at times, your mind says, you have had enough. You are lucky enough that cricket has given you enough money. How many years can you survive for the next few years.”
Tell yourself that I am not that important – KL Rahul
KL Rahul said that it is easy to walk away from the game, but the hardest part is convincing the mind to let go and focus on family and personal happiness. Rahul said that with or without any one player, cricket will continue to flourish in India and around the world.
“Just let go. Just enjoy what you have and you have your family and just do that. That’s the hardest battle. So I try and tell myself that I’m not that important,” Rahul continued.
“Cricket will go on in our country. Cricket will go on in the world. There are more important things in life and I think that’s the mentality I’ve always had, but ever since I had my first child, it’s just like, you know, your way of looking at life is completely different. So yes, that’s who I am,” he said.
KL Rahul’s international record and recent performance
KL Rahul made his Test debut for India against Australia in December 2014. He has scored 4,053 runs in 67 matches at an average of 35.86, which includes 11 centuries and 20 half-centuries.
Rahul has played 94 ODIs and scored 3,360 runs at an average of 50.90 and a strike rate of 90.44, which included eight centuries and 20 fifties. He has also appeared in 72 T20Is for India, scoring 2,265 runs at an average of 37.75 and a strike rate of 139.16 with two centuries and 22 half-centuries.
Rahul was last seen in action during the three-match home ODI series against New Zealand. In the opening match, he scored unbeaten 29 runs in 21 balls and led India to victory by four wickets.
In the second ODI, he remained unbeaten on 112 off 92 balls to register his eighth ODI century. However, in the final match he could score only one run on six balls. India lost the series 1–2 as New Zealand achieved their first men’s bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil.
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