'Why would anyone assume I'm not serious about......' - KL Rahul opens up on his criticism in a never-seen-before manner

 KL Rahul recently spoke out about the relentless social media trolling he has endured, marking it the first time he has openly addressed the issue. As captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul has become the target of jokes on various social media platforms due to his low strike rate, poor form, and perceived shortcomings in his captaincy.

Starting from the World Cup in 2022, netizens have continuously singled out Rahul and relentlessly criticised him for his lacklustre performance. Throughout last year, Rahul struggled to achieve a single century across all formats of the game. As a result, he was stripped of his vice-captaincy roles in One Day Internationals (ODIs), Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), and Test matches. This period proved to be a challenging phase for Rahul, who asserted that he had given his utmost effort, even though the desired results did not materialize.

During an appearance on The Ranveer Show, a podcast hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia, Rahul discussed a range of topics with a focus on how he deals with negative criticism and online trolling.

KL Rahul got personally affected by all the flak

While some cricketers choose to ignore social media trolls, Rahul acknowledged that at times the derogatory comments have affected him personally.

“None of us wants to perform badly. This is our life. This is all we do. Like I said, I don’t know anything else apart from cricket. That’s the only thing I do."

He further added, "Why would anyone assume that I am not serious about my game or I am not working hard enough? And unfortunately, in sports, there is no connection. Like I said you can work hard, like I work hard, but the result didn’t go my way.”

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Currently, Rahul is out of IPL 2023 and WTC Final due to a thigh injury. The 31-year-old has successfully undergone surgery and is set for a long rehab at NCA in Bangalore. The right-hand batter is now targeting World Cup 2023 to return to the team.

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