“I don’t mind proving myself”- KL Rahul tells Nasser Hussain people making decisions forget what the player has done

KL Rahul spoke about frustration of proving himself again and again.

By Jatin Sharma - 25 May, 2025

KL Rahul with Champions Trophy | Getty

KL Rahul talked about constantly having to disprove his critics while juggling several jobs in a few months, going from opener to middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper.

This follows KL Rahul's significant contribution to India's victory in Dubai for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. KL Rahul made the middle order spot his own, making 140 runs with an average of 140 and a strike rate of 97.90.

“Whenever I perform well in a series and then take a break from the ODI circuit, I always face questions upon my return after 4-5 months. People wonder if I’ll even make the playing XI or where I’ll fit into the team. It makes me think at times, ‘What more can I do?’ But no matter where I’ve been asked to play, I’ve always given my best, and I believe I’ve executed my role to the best of my ability,” Rahul said in the post-match press conference then.

Rahul discussed the difficulty of constantly needing to prove himself in an interview with former England captain Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports. The Karnataka batsman added that he found it difficult as those in charge of making judgments frequently overlooked his contributions.

“I don’t mind proving myself all the time. That’s how any sport is – to always perform in every tournament. That’s the case with international cricketers anywhere in the world. But that’s not the hard part – it’s the people who make the decisions who seem to forget what the player has done in the recent tournament. It has been the challenge for me,” he told Nasser Hussain in an interview for Sky Sports.

The 33-year-old felt that the comments might be the same again when he returns to the ODI team in August, when India will play three matches in Bangladesh.

“The next ODI tournament might be after five months because it’s going to be a long English Test summer, and you see people writing and commenting, ‘we need to look for players who can play the 2027 World Cup or the World Cup after that.’ But it’s not just a challenge for me, but every cricketer goes through it. I got a bit emotional during the press conference (after the Champions Trophy semifinal) and said that,” he further added.

KL Rahul also had a good IPL 2025 season for his new franchise, Delhi Capitals. He racked up his fifth IPL century opening the batting in his second outing in the slot and tallied 539 runs at a near-150 strike rate for the season.