“5 minutes before the toss, we told him he's playing” - Rohit Sharma hails KL Rahul for strong comeback during Asia Cup 2023

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma praised KL Rahul for standing up under pressure and delivering for the side during their recently concluded Asia Cup 2023 campaign. Rohit revealed that Rahul was told five minutes before the toss in the Super 4 match against Pakistan that he was playing after Shreyas Iyer suffered back spasms.

Rahul missed the group stage of Asia Cup 2023 after picking up a niggle while he was rehabilitating from his thigh injury. He joined the team ahead of the Super 4 round but was not supposed to play against Pakistan until Shreyas was ruled out.

Rahul made a terrific return to the Indian side, scoring an unbeaten 111 off 106 balls and adding an unbroken 233 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli (122* off 94). Speaking after India’s thumping 10-wicket triumph in the Asia Cup 2023 final against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Rohit praised Rahul’s contribution to the win.

"It's so tough when you have to come back like that. Five minutes before the toss, we told him he's playing. An unfortunate incident happened [Shreyas Iyer suffered back spasm] and KL had to come in and play. To get a hundred like that shows the quality of the player, how mentally he's ready for the challenge. We want players to stand up in big moments and in big pressure situations and a lot of the guys stood up,” the Indian captain said.

Courtesy of Rahul-Kohli tons India posted 356/2 against Pakistan in Colombo. Kuldeep Yadav then claimed 5/25 as Pakistan were bundled out for 128.

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“I would say 99% he should be okay as of now” - Rohit not too concerned about Shreyas

While Shreyas’ frequent issues with fitness are a cause for concern heading into the World Cup, captain Rohit is not too worried. He asserted that he was aware of what was happening with the batter and stated that Shreyas was fine.

"I know what's happening with Shreyas. He was not available for this game [the final]. There were certain parameters that were kept for him to tick off. I think today [Sunday] he completed most of it. I would say 99% he should be ok as of now. But he looks good. He batted, he fielded for long hours before we came today, he was on the ground. So he's looking good at this point in time. So I don't think it's a worry for us,” he said.

Mohammed Siraj claimed 6/21 as India bundled out Sri Lanka for 50 in the Asia Cup final and chased down the total in 6.1 overs.