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'Yes, I want to get back in the T20 team and the World Cup is in my mind': KL Rahul sends a message to selectors
KL Rahul has revealed he wants to return to India's T20I team and is targeting the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Delhi Capitals star spoke about his goals and improved T20 game in an interview with Nasser Hussain. read more
KL Rahul has made it clear that he is eyeing a comeback to India's T20 team and is also targeting the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup. The star batter, who was in great form during the IPL 2025 season, spoke openly about his goals during an interview with former England captain Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.
Rahul last played a T20 match for India in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal, where India lost badly to England by 10 wickets. After that, he has only played in Test and ODI formats for India under Rohit Sharma's captaincy. Rohit took a more aggressive approach in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and maybe that is why he didn't feel the need for someone like Rahul, who played like an anchor.
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India already had Virat Kohli in the team to play that anchor's role when needed. Kohli took Rahul's opening spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup and went on to win the tournament. After Rohit and Kohli retired, India moved on to younger players to fill the gap. But Rahul has worked on his T20 game and improved his strike rate. He even spoke about this in his interview with Nasser Hussain and said that he is hoping to make a comeback to the Indian T20I team.
Here's what Rahul said about his desire
'Yes, I want to get back in the T20 team and the World Cup is in my mind, but for now it's just trying to enjoy how I'm playing right now,' Rahul said.
'I obviously had some time to think about my white-ball game and white-ball cricket; I was quite happy with my performances and where I was. But [there] was a time probably 15 months ago or 12 months ago where I realised that the game is slightly getting ahead or it's changing and becoming much more faster, and I said this in an interview as well, that it's become more about the team that hits more boundaries is winning the games more often than the team that's, I can't say playing smarter, but the team that doesn't hit as many boundaries is always finding themselves on the losing side,' he added
Rahul, who played for Delhi Capitals this season, was their highest run-scorer and looked confident throughout the tournament. He scored 539 runs from 13 innings at an average of 53.90 and a strike rate of 149.72. The 33-year-old hit one century and three half-centuries in the season.
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