KL Rahul Becomes Emotional Over Getting Trolled For Poor Form
KL Rahul finally opened up on facing online trolling and hate over his bad patch with the bat.
Crickate
KL Rahul, the standout batsman for Team India, had a string of inconsistent performances over the past few months. Last year, after a forgettable T20 World Cup, Rahul relinquished his position in the shortest format of cricket. While he did lead the team in the Test series against Bangladesh in December 2022, Rahul also lost his vice-captaincy and was benched for the final two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests earlier this year.
The opening batsman, who leads the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2023 Indian Premier League, has been ruled out of the World Test Championship final against Australia due to a hamstring injury.
Fans and even a few former cricketers have criticized and demanded the removal of Rahul from the team via social media. During a podcast with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, better known by his internet moniker 'BeerBiceps', the batter has finally spoken out about the criticism and hatred he received on social media.
While Rahul began by praising those who supported him during his difficult time, he also discussed how online hatred can negatively affect an athlete.
"I'm very appreciative. Despite the fact that the last few months haven't been fantastic for me on the field, the support I've received indicates that I've done something positive in my life. Not only as a cricket player, but also as an individual. It feels near to my heart; that's when you know you've had a positive impact on people,' began Rahul.
"It's so simple in today's society to... when you see negative comments, when you see someone feeling down, a few people will pick on it, and the rest will join in to make that person feel worse than he already does.
"This occasionally affects me, as well as many of the other guys. When some people believe they have the authority to say whatever they want about another person, they should consider what that person is going through. Nobody desires to perform poorly. This is our existence and what we all do. I have no knowledge of anything else besides cricket. Why would anyone believe that I am not committed to my profession and am not working hard enough?" Rahul said.
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The Indian batter acknowledged that he previously cared about what supporters thought of him, but that has since changed.
"In sports, there is no relationship. I worked hard but the results did not go my way; however, there were instances when I did not work as hard as I normally would but still achieved success. There is no formula in sports; events simply occur.
"There are people who support the players, but I strive to avoid both positive and negative comments. You must do so. Sometimes you do want to hear people say nice things, but you realize that if you do, you must also be prepared to confront the negative side. You must decide what you wish to do. Certainly, if you're not affected by all of that, you can do that. Long ago, it had no effect on me. I responded, 'I don't care. I will disprove their claims. "However, I realized later that it does affect me; I just tried to conceal it," said Rahul.
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