Srinagar: Being modern day celebrity comes with both pros and cons with India batter KL Rahul exactly explaining how social media works after scoring fighting century for Insia vs South Africa at Centurion.
KL Rahul made comeback to Team India after long injury during the Asia Cup 2023. However in the World Cup final, despite scoring 66 runs, his slow-paced innings of 107 balls, featuring only one boundary, drew heavy criticism from both fans and experts. India ultimately lost the final by six wickets, and Rahul found himself at the centre of harsh critique, even enduring online abuse from some disgruntled fans.
But the 31-year-old is now on an upward trajectory, leading the Indian ODI side to a 2-1 win against South Africa earlier this month.
“You have your own personality, personality traits, characteristics. When you play international cricket, they all get challenged. As a person, as a cricketer, as an individual, you are challenged each day, each moment. Social media is a pressure. Today I have scored a hundred, so people are singing and handling praises. Three-four months ago, everybody was abusing me. It’s part of the game, but I can’t say it doesn’t affect you; it does. The sooner you realise that staying away from it is good for your game and your mindset the better it is,” KL Rahul said after second days play.
Rahul insisted it is important to follow one’s routine and draw a line regarding social media consumption. He stated he “worked on myself” when he was away with an injury, even when it was hard to cope with outside pressure.
“You can perform or you can be in a better mindset if you slightly know where to draw the line. Nobody’s that great that they can completely avoid what has been said and the criticism they’re getting. It does affect each person. And anyone who says that doesn’t affect them at all, I’m sure is lying. But each person has to find their way. And for me, when I was injured and was away from the game for such a long time, I worked on myself. I tried to go back to the person that I am, and worked on how I don’t change myself by getting affected by these things. It is difficult to remain true to yourself and true to your personality with so much happening. It is the hardest thing.
“But like anything else in cricket, like anything else in life, there’s, there are ways to work on it. There are people who can help you if your mind is open. So that’s what I did when I was out of the game. I worked on myself and then worked on remaining calmer, and taking care of my head. And what happens inside as well,” said Rahul.