ODI World Cup 2023: 'Bittersweet' return for KL Rahul in Lucknow as India take on England

India batter KL Rahul says it'll be 'bittersweet' for him when he steps on the field against England in Lucknow on October 29 in ODI World Cup 2023. This is the same ground where Rahul had injured himself in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match earlier this year. The batter subsequently was ruled out of the remainder of IPL in which he plays for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), World Test Championship and the Caribbean tour which followed after.

The batter then made a return to the side in Asia Cup 2023 and instantly showed why he's regarded such a important player for India. Speaking ahead of of the England match, Rahul told BCCI.tv that stepping on the ground got his heartrate faster because of his last experience.

"I entered the ground today and I had to do some running," Rahul said. "I told my trainer, Rajini sir [Rajinikanth Sivagnanam] that my heart is racing, because the last time I was here, I had not such a great experience, or not such a great moment in my career. It was a bit bittersweet."

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"That injury had, obviously, a huge impact on me and my career. It wasn't such a happy moment for me, for my family. I've been through many injuries now in the little time that I've played for India. It's not a great feeling for any athlete to keep getting injured so often and to go under the knife and to get surgeries is very, firstly, edifying - and, secondly, very painful," he added.

The batter, who is also India's wicketkeeper in the ODI World Cup 2023 due to an injury to Rishabh Pant, said that most painful part of the injury was rehab.

"The most painful part is doing the rehab after that and trying to get fitter and stronger, and convincing yourself that it's not going to happen again. It's mentally very, very challenging. When it happened, it was obviously frustrating. I was very angry at what had happened and started questioning why and all of that."

"But I started seeing the best in what happened much later when I was in Bangalore, and realised that it came at a time when I really needed that break away from the game, because there was a lot going on with me mentally - and, for the first time in my career, I felt like I had no answers," he added.

India are currently on a roll in the ODI World Cup 2023 with five wins in five games and will aim to continue it against England.

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