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BAN vs IND 1st ODI – KL Rahul press conference: His form, Pant & more

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Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: BAN vs IND 1st ODI – KL Rahul press conference: His form, Pant & more | Transcript of KL Rahul press conference

Freelance journalist Tawhid Qureshi, who is in Bangladesh covering India’s tour for CricBlog, was at the KL Rahul press conference following the home side’s thrilling win.

KL Rahul press conference transcript

Below is the transcript of the Rahul press conference, which includes Bangladesh’s tight win, his form and Rishabh Pant’s removal from the squad.

On Bangladesh’s tight win…

KL Rahul: “That’s cricket, right? You have to expect the unexpected sometimes. We’ve seen it so many times; as long as cricket has been played I think these kinds of results keep happening. You’ve never won the game until the last ball or until the last run has been scored.

They [Bangladesh] fought really well, fought till the end. That innings from Mehidy… a couple of dropped chances as well, but he batted really well. Like I said, they fought till the end and they wanted it.”

On his innings of 73 off 70 balls…

KL Rahul: “It was just one of those days where out of everybody else I looked like I was timing the ball better, and the shots that I picked fortunately for me went to the boundary or every option that I took just went my way. Something that I’ve been working on even the last couple of sessions that we’ve been here in Bangladesh; the pitches even at the back have been quite similar to what we got in the middle today, so I tried to challenge myself.

All the preparation obviously happens before the game. Quite pleased with such innings; it really gives you joy as a batter because you are challenged and you have to really put your hand up when your team requires.

I enjoyed my batting today, but I ideally would have liked 30-40 more runs towards the end. I did fancy 230, 240. If I batted till the end… Siraj was batting well with me, so if I could have batted another ten overs and got 35-40 runs, it would have been the difference.”

On Mehidy’s innings and India’s mistakes…

KL Rahul: “Towards the end, it was only one way they [Bangladesh] could have won. I think Mehidy Hasan [Miraz] played a phenomenal innings and he took a few chances… took some big risks, which he had to at the end; he had to take those big risks and play those big shots. He found the boundary and when you only have 30-35 runs, one or two big shots also puts pressure on the opposition, and he did that really well.

Also, a couple of dropped chances didn’t help us. It happens in cricket and today I think Bangladesh like I said fought really hard until the end, and they’ve won the game today, but we made a few mistakes, so we’ll learn from it and come back stronger.”

On whether he feels Bangladesh understands ODI cricket better than other formats…

KL Rahul: “This is home for them so obviously playing here they understand their conditions a lot better. I don’t know, I haven’t played too many one-day games against Bangladesh. I’ve only played a few games… I remember 2019 World Cup, and I haven’t played against them too many times to answer that question.

But, whatever we’ve watched on TV and how they play at home, they obviously understand their conditions really well and they’re a really good team at home. Even away, they have always been a competitive team, and they challenge the opposition. Every team at this level is a good team and will always challenge each other. It’s international level, you have to be good to be at this level.”

On India’s injuries and depth…

KL Rahul: “Yes we do have a lot of injuries in our team which is unfortunate. But, having said that, the youngsters in the team have a lot of experience. Maybe IPL and they’ve played quite a lot of cricket, so it’s a good opportunity for them, and they’re all excited for whoever comes into the team. These are the games where you try out a few new players and unfortunately due to injuries, you have to field different players.

Having said that, it’s a good opportunity for all of them. We will learn as we play more cricket together, as they get more experienced, they’ll only get better. It’s all a learning experience, and we have a bigger goal in mind, and we need to keep getting better as individuals and as a team.”

On Rishabh Pant’s removal from the ODI squad and India’s keeping role…

KL Rahul: “Actually, we haven’t played a lot of ODIs in the last 6-7 months, but if you look at since 2020 or 21, I have kept wickets in the one-day format and I have batted at number four and five in the middle order. It’s a role that the team has asked me to do before, and when it comes to Rishabh, I’m not really aware to be honest. I just found out today in the dressing room that he has been released. I don’t know what the reasons are; the medical team will be in a better position to answer that question.

This is a role that the team has always has asked me to be ready for in white-ball cricket. I’ve done it before, and whenever the team wants me to play this role, I will play this role.

I didn’t see him [Pant] in the dressing room. We asked what happened and he has been released, but we had to focus on the game, so we did not ask too many questions.”

Charbel Coorey
Charbel Cooreyhttps://cricblog.net
Charbel is the owner & founder of cricblog.net, based in Sydney, Australia. He started the website to fulfill his love for the game of cricket. Charbel has been featured on other publications including OP India, Times of India, and The Roar, among others. He is also a keen fantasy sports player. Charbel has also had the privilege of interviewing cricketers on the CricBlog TV YouTube channel, including James Neesham, Rassie van der Dussen, Andrew Tye, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat and Saurabh Netravalkar: https://www.youtube.com/@cricblogtv For any story tips or questions, you can contact Charbel at charbelcoorey@cricblog.net.

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