KL Rahul has spoken about his retirement plans from international cricket. Rahul, 32, made his India debut in 2014-15 in Tests and has even captained India in all three formats with relative success.
However, injuries and a lack of form have hampered Rahul’s career advancement and consistency. His potential is unquestionable, yet he appears to lose shape rapidly. Rahul participated in the 2019 ODI World Cup, followed by the T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022. He was not included in the T20 World Cup 2024, which India recently won.
More recently, Rahul has been regarded as the best option at number five in India’s ODI lineup. In Test cricket, he generally bats in the top five. He had scored the majority of his runs as an opener in the format.
The former India vice-captain across format, KL Rahul revealed that the realization that his cricket career would soon be over struck him on his 30th birthday. The 32-year-old admitted that he knows he won’t be in the sport for much longer.
“There is no insecurity, but there is a feeling that all this ends, and for me it ends very quickly. If you are fit enough, you can play till 40. That is the maximum someone has played. Yes, there is MS Dhoni, who is 43 and is still playing. You can play the IPL and all of that, but not at the international level for too long.
There is a fear and realization that shell life is really small for an athlete, and you need to make the most of it within whatever time you have,” said Rahul on a podcast on Nikhil Kamath’s YouTube channel.
KL Rahul has played 50 Tests, 77 ODIs, and 72 T20Is for India. He has 2863, 2851, and 2265 runs respectively with a total of 17 centuries in international cricket. He also has 4683 runs in 132 IPL matches with 4 centuries to his name.
I Have 10 More Years To Play Cricket: KL Rahul
KL Rahul then talked about how much time he has in international cricket going forward. Rahul also talked about venturing into business to form a life for himself and prepare himself for life after cricket.
“For me, the anxiety was when I hit 30. I could see the end of the tunnel. Till I was 29, I could not see that. Some weird thing happened on my 30th birthday. I could see I had 10 more years to play cricket, and that gave me anxiety, and that was the first time I felt like ‘This comes to an end at some point.’ All I have done all my life is ‘Cricket, Cricket, Cricket,’ without imagining this comes to an end. Now I can see it. It is not too far away,” KL Rahul added.
He also expressed concern that his revenue would drop significantly if he retired from the game. KL Rahul also mentioned starting a business or developing other enterprise ideas after the game.
“I don’t know. That is part of the reason I have started thinking about businesses and investing my money right. So that my life after cricket is taken care of. I know there will be a huge dip in the amount I earn after I retire. COVID for me happened at the right time and it gave me time to sit and research how I can invest my money. You generally lean on your family to guide you when you start earning, but I did not have that. All this is new for my father too.
I met some good people. I have some good friends who gave my guidance. I am trying to set up a few things before I retire so that when I retire that transition from an athlete to doing something in business will be smooth and make me happier than not knowing what to do,” Rahul further revealed.
Rahul is set to feature in India’s home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. He will be seen in action in the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
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