India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul didn’t make a memorable return to international cricket as he was dismissed after scoring just a solitary run off five balls in the second ODI of India’s three-match series against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Following the IPL 2022, KL Rahul underwent a Sports Hernia surgery which forced him to miss the home series against South Africa, followed by the tour of Ireland and England. When he looked fit and ready to return, he tested positive for COVID-19 which meant he could not travel to the West Indies. Before the IPL 2022, he had missed the T20Is and Test series against Sri Lanka due to an injury.
After not getting a chance to bat in the first ODI match, there were a lot of eyes on KL Rahul as the game started. The stand-in skipper was returning to professional cricket for the first time since the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) where he led his side Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG). However, to everyone’s dismissal, KL Rahul failed yet again and was dismissed cheaply.
KL Rahul had promoted himself to the top of the order and had walked out to open the innings for the Indian side alongside Shikhar Dhawan. However, the move didn’t work out in his favor as he missed a flick on an inswinger from Victor Nyauchi.
After the match, during the post-match presentation, KL Rahul was asked about his disappointing performance. Reacting to his cheap dismissal in the 2nd ODI, KL Rahul gave a hilarious two-word reply saying ‘Didn’t work.’ He had said:
“We bat deep and it’s good for some of the guys to get time in the middle. We weren’t nervous. It didn’t work (laughs, on the changed batting order), I wanted to get some runs but it didn’t happen. Hopefully in the next game. They have some quality bowlers in the attack and they bowled well to Bangladesh, I watched on the television. The bowlers did come hard, they’re tall, big and strong boys.”
He added: “Good challenge for us as batters, but we bat deep so it wasn’t a worry. We’re here to play good cricket and win. It’s a great turnout today, it’s a weekend, and wherever we go across the world we get good support from Indian fans, so thanks to them,”
