New Delhi: Team India star KL Rahul recently opened up on his post-retirement plans and revealed he can already see the ‘end of the tunnel’ as far as his cricketing career is concerned. The 32-year-old batter still has plenty left in the tank and remains a vital cog in the Indian team in Tests and ODIs despite falling behind in the pecking order as far as T20Is are concerned.
However, he has been far from his prolific best in the last few months. Rahul struggled for his franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and was snubbed from the T20 World Cup 2024 squad. The stylish right-hander has also struggled to make the cut in the playing XI in the last few games and his performances have dipped significantly.
Speaking on a podcast on Nikhil Kamath’s YouTube channel, Rahul opened up on the short shelf life of an athlete’s career and revealed how his worst fear came true after he turned 30. The Team India star revealed that turning 30 made him realise that he only has about 10 years left at the highest level and that the end is near as far as his career is concerned.
“There is no insecurity, but there is a feeling that all this ends, and for me it ends very quickly. If you are fit enough, you can play till 40. That is the maximum someone has played. Yes, there is MS Dhoni, who is 43 and is still playing. You can play the IPL and all of that, but not at the international level for too long. There is a fear and realisation that the shelf life is really small for an athlete, and you need to make the most of it within whatever time you have,” Rahul said on the podcast.
“For me, the anxiety was when I hit 30. I could see the end of the tunnel. Till I was 29, I could not see that. Some weird thing happened on my 30th birthday. I could see I have 10 more years to play cricket, and that gave me anxiety, and that is the first time I felt like ‘This comes to an end at some point.’ All I have done all my life is ‘cricket, cricket, cricket,’ without imagining this comes to an end. Now I can see it. It is not too far away,” he added.
Rahul, who made his Test debut in 2014, has enjoyed a great career for India so far. The prolific batter has played 50 Tests, 77 ODIs and 72 T20Is in his career so far and has amassed 2863, 2851 and 2265 runs in the three formats respectively. In the absence of Rishabh Pant, Rahul was also promoted as India’s first-choice wicket-keeper batter in Tests overseas.
Rahul opens up on businesses and investments
Rahul opened up on planning his investments and setting up businesses as he shared his post-retirement plans. The India batter revealed COVId-19 was a blessing in disguise for him as it gave him a much-needed break and allowed him time to do some research regarding how to go about investing his money. Rahul said he is aware his earnings will take a hit post his retirement thus it is important for him to ensure he has investments and businesses to rely on after bidding adieu to cricket.
Team India star KL Rahul made some honest admissions regarding his international career as he opened up on his post retirement plans. Rahul revealed how turning 30 led to anxiety and gave him a feeling that the end is near as far as his cricket career was concerned. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
