Why Rahul Dravid reprimanded KL Rahul after his century celebration against Pakistan
KL Rahul reflected on the moment when head coach Rahul Dravid questioned his celebration after the Pakistan century, clarifying it was a personal expression from his recovery phase, not meant as disrespect.
Recently, Indian batter KL Rahul made an appearance in a podcast where he shared an interesting story of the 2023 Asia Cup. The story is from their match against arch-rival Pakistan, where former head coach Rahul Dravid said something to Rahul after the match ended.
Speaking on the ‘2 Sloggers’ YouTube show, Rahul revealed that Dravid wasn’t particularly pleased with one part of his celebration. The coach questioned him about turning his back to the dressing room after reaching the milestone, a gesture Dravid found a bit disrespectful at first glance.
Rahul immediately clarified to the head coach that it was only a celebration and he didn’t want to disrespect anyone. He just did the celebration out of excitement because it was the first century after coming back from an injury. After that, the misunderstanding between them was cleared up, and they both started laughing. Fans were ecstatic to hear the story and praised the strong brotherly bond between KL Rahul and Rahul Dravid.
See Also: From Phil Hughes to Shreyas Iyer: Notable freak injuries on the Cricket field
KL Rahul Shares an Unheard Story of Him With Rahul Dravid:
While talking about the incident, KL Rahul shared, “ The dressing room was on this side, and I turned my back to it while doing the celebration. Rahul Dravid, our coach, was a little upset and asked why I turned my back on the dressing room.”
Rahul explained that his celebration had no intention of being disrespectful. He shared that he told Dravid that it was just a pure celebration without any intention. After smashing a century against Pakistan in the 2023 Asia Cup, he got a little emotional because it was his first outing after coming back to the team. He was out of the team for a longer period of time due to an injury.
He further said, “ I told him, ‘No sir, I didn’t mean it as disrespect.’ During those months I was out injured, I had a dream about this celebration — like a statue pose. It wasn’t mine alone; it felt like it belonged to everyone. That’s why this celebration is so special to me.”
The 2023 Asia Cup became a remarkable comeback chapter for KL Rahul. Originally not part of the playing XI, he was called in unexpectedly after Shreyas Iyer’s back spasm. After getting the unexpected chance against Pakistan, he utilized it to the fullest. He scored a century alongside Virat and put the team into a comfortable position. Later, they got a one-sided dominating victory over their arch-rival in the tournament.
In that talk show, Rahul accepted that 2023 had been a rough year for him. He said, “Oh yes, it was 2023… a bad, bad year.” Firstly picking the thigh injury during IPL against RCB which kept him away from the cricket field for a longer time, and also needed surgery for recovery which was tough for him not only physically but mentally as well.
Rahul also revealed that the recovery journey wasn't smooth at all. While he was fighting with physical pain, he was also dealing with constant trolling, which was even more challenging. He added, “Every morning, I woke up and told myself the same thing — that I’ll be the best player in the world. That’s how I kept motivating myself to keep going.”
Tags:
