When I walked into the dressing room & saw Rohit, Virat, and Ashwin not around, it felt a little strange: KL Rahul

Team India opening batter KL Rahul has opened up on missing the veteran players Ravi Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli on the England tour in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which India levelled 2-2.

Speaking exclusively on JioHotstar, Rahul has revealed that it felt a bit strange not to have the trio in the dressing room. Notably, the Indian senior trio announced their Test retirements recently. 

“I don’t know if it’s happened organically, but I’ve generally not thought too much about it. Of course, I miss having those two or three senior guys around in the dressing room - most of my Test career has been with them. When I walked into the dressing room in England and saw Rohit, Virat, and Ashwin not around, it felt a little strange because they had always been there,” Rahul told JioHotstar. 

“Somewhere along the way, you get the sense that, as a senior player, you need to step up and take a bit more responsibility, so that the younger guys can focus on their cricket without feeling burdened. Even the way Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill have started talking to me has been slightly different, which gives you that sense that you need to step up and try to fill in some big boots. At the end of the day, though, I just try to do my job, and I’m happy that I’m doing it well so far,” he added.

Moreover, he also talked about his average Test numbers after smashing his second Test ton at home and 11th century overall in the longest format of the game. He stated that, though cricket is a numbers game, he wants to keep things simple.

“I don’t let numbers bother me, but of course, I see them. Every batter would want their stats to be as high as possible. Right now, though, my focus is on sticking to my game plan, playing the way I want, and enjoying my cricket. When I tick those boxes, the runs usually follow, and the numbers improve naturally. It’s important to take things step by step and not rush ahead. Yes, there’s always expectation and pressure - cricket is a numbers game at the end of the day - but I try to focus on the simple things I can control and leave the rest to God,” he concluded.

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