KL Rahul says he no longer worries about his place in the team and just focusses on the present

With so much of competition both in domestic and international cricket and no one’s place in the team guaranteed, India opener KL Rahul admits it is difficult to be at peace but also says he has learned to find happiness in his batting and as long as he bats well he will not have to worry about his place in the playing XI.

Rahul scored his second half-century of the series in the series decider, hitting a quick-fire 91 to help India beat West Indies by 67 runs and seal the series. However, before the series began, the 27-year-old Karnataka batsman was not the first-choice opener and was handed and came in as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan, who is currently out of the setup due to an injury he sustained in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.

“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.

KL Rahul has played 36 Tests, 23 ODIs and 34 T20Is from which he has 206, 704 and 1138 runs respectively. He is also likely to lead the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2020.