Dear KL Rahul,
Alright, here’s a lot to say. But guess what, I am still reeling from that knock yesterday. You know even a month back I was fighting tooth and nail with all your detractors. Obviously the niggles were interminable and the complains, probably higher than the tallest peak on Jupiter.
But guess what, let’s fast forward a month and boom, people were screaming your name at the top of their lungs. They were looking forward to a saviour and saviour did they get and how. If Virat Kohli was the overture to madness, you were the full-blown crescendo to what rocked the shores of Chennai.
I am not going get into those numbers and technicalities. I guess the world has plenty of experts to do the dissection for you. For me it was about the belif. It was about the grit. The fearlessness. The unwavering spirit. Come what may, may it be Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or let’s say a certain Dennis Lillee from the past and you may have smacked him too.
You know, KL, I now believe if that 2003 World Cup had a certain Rahul in place of Dinesh Mongia and maybe and just maybe, all that disappointment, all the grief, all the loss, all of it could have been different. From the towering likes of Glenn McGrath to Brett Lee, I think India could have had a new dawn.
But I guess as they say, everything has a right time and your time is now. You know all those fans who are hollering your name now, they were the same ones who forgot to write the apology back when you were injured.
They forgot that there was a man who could change the dynamics of the game in a blink. They forgot that the Indian middle-order was never the trouble. In fact the engine room for India was probably the best and that is because we have juggernauts of the sport gracing the unit.
Come what may, again, come hell or high waters, come those bouncy deathbeds or those rank turners, the Indian middle-order will still stand tall because there is a certain number four called KL Rahul who doesn’t know how to cower down.
Oh that last six from you yesterday. Believe me, I wish that you got your century but who would love to see a laden ton when you can finish with an extraterrestrial shot like that. The balance, the class, the head position, the back hand swing and the backlift, my word, I felt that had Don known about you, he would have certainly graced Delhi when you would be up against Afghanistan.
Well, this is just the start, KL. Come what may, you will have to keep on pushing. Thank you for keeping my faith intact. This is your time, this is your World Cup and this is your playground. Let’s go, KL.
Yours sincerely,
A crazy cricket fan
