'I thought it won't affect me, but..' - KL Rahul discloses opting help from mental coach to shutdown outside noise

The star India wicket keeper batter KL Rahul has made some significant contributions with the bat as well as in the field during India's five-match unbeaten streak in the ODI World Cup 2023. His 97-run unbeaten knock against Australia in India's opening World Cup fixture oozed class and showed the cricket fraternity why he is rated as one of the most skillful players in modern-day cricket. While playing for Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul suffered a right thigh injury in a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League 2023 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

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The 31-year-old was out for four months before returning to the Indian side to play in the Asia Cup 2023. Rahul is going to play at the Ekana Stadium once again on Sunday versus England in an ODI World Cup 2023 clash.

"Mai bhoolna chahta hoon magar log bhoolne nahi dete (I want to forget about it but people keep reminding me about it). I can't say that it is not in my mind. Yesterday when I came to the ground, my last memory of this ground is that - falling down and injuring myself. Hopefully, I can put that aside and I can make some better and happier memories to forget all of that,” said Rahul responded to a question about his less-than-favorable memory from his previous visit to the Ekana Stadium during the pre-match press conference ahead of India vs England clash.

Mentally you got to get a lot stronger, a lot more thick-skinned: KL Rahul

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Since returning from injury, Rahul has been in exceptional form, accumulating 482 runs in a mere 10 ODI innings with an impressive average of 96.40. The star wicket keeper batter shared insights into his struggle with external distractions and emphasized the significance of mental conditioning during his period of injury recovery.

"I have put a lot of effort in this. I tried to address it. Outside noise for a long time, I thought it won't affect me, but in the last year or so it started affecting me. And then I realized that I would have to work on it. And when I got time, outside of the game, I tried to work on that side - mentally you got to get a lot more stronger, a lot more thick-skinned. So yeah, so that really helped me being away from the game," said Rahul during a pre-match press conference.