Biggest challenge was to get rid of that fear and pain aspect of things: Rahul

Overcoming the mental barrier was the biggest challenge India wicketkeeper KL Rahul faced while rehabilitating after suffering a serious quadricep injury that laid him low for nearly four monthsRahul had suffered the debilitating injury during the IPL which later necessitated surgery in LondonThe 31yearold underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy NCA in Bengaluru to get fit for the Asia Cup But a niggle resulted in him missing the first two group matches of the tournament in Sri Lanka However he was assessed again on September 4 and cleared to join Team India in Kandy for the continental tournament He also figures in the provisional squad for the World Cup in IndiaA lot of times its also like you fight a big mental battle where youre always thinking at the back of your head that okay I might feel pain And when you are in that mindset you cant really start focusing on skills said Rahul in a video posted by BCCI on SundayAlso Read Venkatesh Prasad slams BCCI and ICC over mismanagement of World Cup fixtures ticketingSo the biggest challenge was to get rid of that fear and get rid of that pain aspect of thingsHe added that wicketkeeping requires a lot of strength in the quads and the biggest question mark in his mind while rehabilitating was how he would convince himself to don the role again after such a big surgeryThe big thing was to feel confident in my own body and be pain free in movements that require a lot of intensity Especially I knew coming back Ill have to keep wicket as wellAnd that was one of the big concerns for physios and me a big question mark in my held that the biggest challenge for me coming back will be wicketkeeping because of the quadricep injuryWhen you are wicketkeeping squatting down every ball you require a lot of strength in your quads and you need it to support you You need your body to support you and be pain freeRahul expressed his gratitude towards the physios who guided him through the tough phaseAnd once you get through that pain free and that can only happen when you take things step by step And like I said I was in the hands of some really good physios and trainer at the NCA So they really guided me and they knew when to push me when to step backThe cricketer added that it was quite a simple chase that resulted in the injury and that he initially felt it would get better in a couple of weeksI just tried to chase the ball and my tendon snap I had a fullfledged tear my tendon ripped apart from my quadriceps So when it happened obviously me my family the franchise the team everybody had their fingers crossed hoping that wasnt a big tear it was a small strain or I could get better in a couple of weeksBut once we did the scans in a couple of days we knew it was a full tear and there was quite clear that in terms of how I can get better from this injury was to go under the knife and do surgeryThe physios knew right away that surgery was the only way and that was the route that we had to take It all happened really quicklyRahul said that once the mental barrier was crossed he could concentrate on his cricketing skills and be ready for the rigours of the Asia CupSo once that happened then skill took place I started sprinting and doing all of that But again unfortunately in the process of doing that I developed a small niggle just before I could come back into into the team which was a big downer and I was actually ahead of scheduleAnd I felt like I could come back much before the Asia Cup and give myself a lot of time and prepare myself really well But unfortunately one more niggle that set me back a couple of weeksSo went through a lot of ups and downs within the recovery period as well I was ready mentally so I think that really helped meThe cricketer added that he was able to make a successful return to the field because he gave his body enough time to recoverIm feeling good obviously Good to be back with the team Its been quite some time that Ive been away from the game but yeah happy to be back everything worked out right on schedule So Im happy that I could tick off all the boxesWhen you have surgery the most important thing is for you to respect that you put your body through something very big youve had a big repair so you have to respect it and give your body enough time to recoverThe Lucknow Super Giants skipper in the IPL added that unlike previous injuries and surgeries when he used to get bored and feel demotivated while recuperating this time around he found the motivation to the mundane stuffQuite strange this time The other times Ive had surgery or injuries I find myself really being very bored not knowing what to do or not having any motivation to wake up and go and do physioBut this time that didnt happen I dont know what it was but I always found motivation to go and do the boring stuff this time this period of being away from the game to just not really be desperate about anything I just wanted to enjoy the process of even doing physio something as boring as physio which is not as rewarding as playing a game of cricketIve been away for four months but it doesnt feel like it was a long time It went by really quickly Each day kept getting better when you are seeing that improvement you also feel motivated to go backRahul said he was ready for the rigours of the 100over game and feeling confident about his abilitiesIm happy to come back into the team and get back that rhythm of being in the middle playing 50 overs I mean playing 100 overs and keeping for 50 overs batting for as long as I need to and the team requiresSo Im very excited about that Asia Cup and World Cup and fingers crossed that itll all go well Ive prepared really well Im confident about myselfThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove 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