Indian batsman KL Rahul has spoken for the first time about his plans to retire from international cricket. Rahul has been playing international cricket for India for a decade now and has been a star performer across formats.
However, injuries and lack of form played their part in limiting Rahul’s career in terms of consistency and progression.
His potential is never in question, but he is quickly out of shape. Rahul played in the 2019 ODI World Cup followed by the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups. He was not included in the T20 World Cup 2024 tournament which India won recently.
Recently, Rahul was seen as the number five batsman in ODI cricket. In Test cricket too, he is a regular in the top five. He had scored most of his runs as an opener in the format.
Meanwhile, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper admitted that the realization that his cricket career would soon come to an end hit him on his 30th birthday. The 32-year-old football player admitted that he sees that he has a long time to retire from the sport.
“There is no insecurity, but there is a feeling that it all ends and it ends too soon for me. If you are fit enough, you can play till 40. That is the maximum one plays. Yes, there is MS Dhoni. Who is 43 and still playing You can play IPL and all that, but not for a very long time at the international level.
In a podcast on Nikhil Kamath’s YouTube channel, which also featured Kriti Sanon and Badshah, Rahul said, “The shell life for an athlete is really small and you have to make the most of it whenever you get it.”
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I have 10 more years to play cricket: KL Rahul
KL Rahul later said that he initially thought of retiring after turning 30 as he started looking at his career differently.
“The anxiety for me was when I was 30. I could see the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t see it until I was 29. At 30, something strange happened. I saw I had 10 more years. I played cricket and it worried me and it was the first time that ‘ I felt like this is coming to an end’. All I did all my life was ‘Cricket, Cricket, Cricket’, not imagining that it would end, now I see it’s not far away,” said KL Rahul.
He later spoke of his fear that his income would drop significantly after he quit the game. KL Rahul also talked about starting a business or having other venture ideas after he is done with the game.
“I don’t know. It’s part of me starting to think about businesses and investing my money properly. So focus on my life after cricket. I know there will be a big drop in my earnings after that. I’m retiring.
“For me, COVID happened when it gave me time to sit down and figure out how to invest my money. Usually when you start earning, you rely on your family to guide you, but I didn’t have that.
“This is all new to my dad, too. I’ve met good people. I’ve got good friends guiding me. I’m trying to set up a few things before I retire so that when I retire, I’ll be able to transition from being an athlete to being a sportsman. will make him happy,” said KL Rahul.
KL Rahul last played for India in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He is expected to feature in India’s home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. There is also a tour of Australia that is immediately followed and KL Rahul would also like to be a part of that tour.
