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KL Rahul admits to being ‘scared’ of losing his skills during Covid-19 lockdown

by Wisden Staff August 18, 2020 - 10:16am 2-minute read

KL Rahul has admitted he was scared he wouldn’t be able to maintain his batting skills during the Covid-19 lockdown, and revealed he even had nightmares about it.

The India top-order batsman, who will captain Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming IPL 2020, highlighted the issues he faced during his time locked down at home, and not being able to access gym and training facilities.

“After running on concrete and treadmill for months when you step onto the ground you feel like you’re walking on a cloud,” Rahul said while in conversation with Times of India. “It’s difficult to explain the feeling. I was half in tears, half smiling. In fact, I just couldn’t stop smiling. Just to be able to get out and run on the ground felt so good.

“Not having that chance to go to the gym or practice was frustrating. But we adapted well. We managed to put together gyms at home. Some of us started cycling, running in the car parks of apartments. We didn’t have a choice. There were days when I was annoyed and frustrated, but I kept telling myself there were a lot of others having it much harder and tougher in life.”

Rahul shed light on his anxiety, revealing he had nightmares that he had “forgotten how to pick the line and length”.

“I was scared,” he said. “I kept wondering if my skills would remain the same when I returned to the sport. I had nightmares. A couple of times I woke up in the middle of the night because I dreamt I had forgotten how to pick the line and length. It scared the hell out of me. To be honest, when I went back to play the first session, it was horrible because I was rusty.”