2019 suspension changed my thought process, made me consistent performer, reveals KL Rahul

Indian batsman KL Rahul revealed that it was the suspension that he and Hardik Pandya got last year for passing sexist comments on the show Koffee with Karan that changed his mindset and made him a more focused player.

KL Rahul has been one of India's most consistent performers over the past one year in both the ODI and T20I format.

"A lot of credit for my consistent performance goes to how differently I started thinking after 2019. With this suspension and with all that happened, I was tempted or I was in a way wanted to be selfish and play for myself, and I failed. So I told myself I need to go out and do what the team wants me to do," KL Rahul told India Today.

Focused all my energy on wanting to do better for the team: KL Rahul

KL Rahul has also become the team's first-choice wicket-keeper in the white-ball formats as consistent performances in the opening slot in T20Is and in the middle-order in the ODIs have seen him keep out Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant from the T20I and ODI side respectively.

KL Rahul has scored 303 runs in five innings at an average of 75.75 and a strike rate of 114.77 in ODIs. In T20Is, he scored 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and a strike rate of 144.51. KL Rahul revealed that it was his desire to play for the team that brought in such a huge change for him.

"We all know our careers are not too long and I realised after 2019 that I probably have a good 12 or 11 years left in me and I need to dedicate all my time and energy towards becoming a player and team man. That mind-shift really helped and took a lot of pressure off me when I started focusing on wanting to do better for the team and be a part of champion teams and make a difference in the game," KL Rahul asserted.