After an impressive individual campaign in IPL 2025, KL Rahul aims to return to India’s T20 setup, with the 2026 T20 World Cup on his mind. The World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka in February next year. Rahul has not played a T20 International since November 2022, but he is hoping to make a strong comeback.
Despite his team Delhi Capitals (DC) failing to make it to the IPL 2025 playoffs, Rahul was one of the standout performers, finishing as DC’s highest run-scorer with 539 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 149.72.
In a candid interview with Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports during the IPL, Rahul said, “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, who was once criticised for his slower approach in T20s, notably said in the past that “strike rate is very, very overrated.” But the dynamics of modern white-ball cricket, he admitted, have shifted. “There was a time probably 12 or 15 months ago where I realised the game is getting faster… the team that hits more boundaries is winning more often.”
“Abhishek Nayar is one of the guys I’ve worked with in the last 12 months quite a lot.” – KL Rahul
This self-awareness, he said, came from time away from international T20s and a deeper look at his game. “I haven’t been part of the T20 team in the last couple of years. That’s given me some time to think… where the game’s gone and what I need to do to catch up and perform again.”
Rahul credited coaches—especially Abhishek Nayar—for helping him evolve. “Abhishek Nayar is one of the guys I’ve worked with in the last 12 months quite a lot. He’s come into the Indian team as a batting coach [but has been removed since], so I spent a lot of time with him, and he really helped in helping me change my thinking and helping me work on my game.”
In April, a video showed Rahul joking with DC’s mentor Kevin Pietersen. Rahul reminded him of an old comment: “Watching KL is like watching paint dry.” Pietersen laughed and said, “Well, I’m glad you changed your game.”
Rahul concluded by saying, “I’ve spent a couple of weeks with KP here at the IPL and you realise that they don’t mean any harm to you, just what he’s seen on TV and it’s what he felt, and he said that on TV. So there’s nothing more. So it’s been easy for me since I started seeing it that way: if someone is a commentator or a fellow cricketer has said that, obviously it’s what he’s seen and what he feels. So you don’t take it personally—I think that’s a bit easier.”
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