KL Rahul opines on how social media trolling affects players

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has a lot of experience which he has earned for his batting over the years. While he has received applauds for his good shows with the bat, Rahul has also been facing trolls on social media on his off days. He, however, silenced his critics with a stunning century in the ongoing Test against South Africa at Centurion. However, instead of taking a jibe at his trolls, KL Rahul said that he believes in letting his bat do all the talking as well.

After the end of play on Day 2 (December 27), while addressing the media, KL Rahul said: “What will I achieve [by] doing that? Logon ko jo bolna hoga bolenge [People will say what they want to]. If you are a public performer, performance is your only yardstick to stay away from criticism. One who is hailing me today was abusing me some months back. Anyone who says he isn’t affected by comments on social media is lying. But the more you stay away, the better it is for your mindset.”

KL Rahul scored an excellent 101 runs in 137 balls against South Africa, having come in the middle under pressure situation as well. He has been in good form ever since his return after a long-term injury that he sustained during IPL 2023. A century against Pakistan in the Asia Cup was followed by an amazing 2023 World Cup and then the Centurion hundred as well.

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“When you play international cricket, you are not only challenged as a player but also as a person because you have a personality. So, when I was away from the game, I worked on myself as a person. Obviously, there were people to help me,” KL Rahul shared.

However, it was his 2nd ton in Centurion. No other overseas batter has managed to do that as well. To put it into context, Dean Elgar smashed his first hundred at the ground later in the day, which is the second last Test match of his career as well

“I have quite enjoyed playing here,” Rahul said of Centurion. “The wicket really keeps reminding you that you need to focus throughout and that you’re never set, never really in or out of the game. It’s a fast outfield, so when you time the ball you get boundaries. There will be times when you can score your runs fast, there will be times when you can’t score a run at all… It’s fun to bat here though. You never feel set. You keep playing and missing, and whenever that happens, you need to tell yourself that you need to focus again, it’s not an easy wicket. Even when you’re 70-80, you never feel like you’ll score 30-40 runs in the next hour. That’s one thing that helps me keep focus, doesn’t let you think too far ahead,” KL Rahul concluded.