India opener KL Rahul admits it is difficult to be at peace when one’s place in the national team is uncertain but says he has learnt to find happiness in his batting rather than worry about a spot in the side. Rahul blasted his second half-century of the series, hitting a blazing 91 in the third T20 International, to help India beat West Indies by 67 runs and seal the series 2-1 on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old was not the first-choice opener and was handed the slot after regular opener Shikhar Dhawan sustained an injury and was ruled out of the entire series.
“I won’t say I don’t feel it (pressure) at all. Obviously, going in and out of the team is never easy on any player, you take a little bit of time to get used to the international pressure and oppositions and there are no opposition where you can just walk in and score runs, so it’s always difficult,” Rahul told reporters.
“You can only hope (for being in the team). For me what’s in my control is to keep putting up these performances whenever I get the opportunity and I am not at that stage where I worry about whether I’ll find myself playing the next tournament or anything (like that). “Whenever I get the opportunity I want to win games for my team and be out there in the middle and enjoy my batting. That’s the place that I get most happiness right now being in the middle and hitting the ball from the middle of the bat, so whenever that opportunity comes, I’ll like to grab and enjoy it,” he added.
The stylish right-handed batsman said he tries to be in the rhythm even when he is not in the team.
“This game is all about confidence and being in good rhythm and good touch. I can’t really sit outside and not prepare, all I can do is sit outside and prepare and try to create match feel for myself and I did play a lot of first class cricket, so not a lot changes, it is still T20 cricket,” he said.
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