"We could have had the World Cup in our hands"- KL Rahul recalled moment he regretted the most from 2023 World Cup

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Kl Rahul claimed that he would always regret the timing of his dismissal against Australia in the 2023 World Cup final, which the hosts lost in Ahmedabad by six wickets in November last year.

While Rahul top-scored for his side with 66(107), he was caught behind off Mitchell Starc's bowling during the backend of the Indian innings. The Men in Blue were bundled out for 240 and Rahul believed the score could have been a lot more had he stayed at the crease till the end.

Speaking to Ravichandran Ashwin in a video on the off-spinner's YouTube channel, here's what KL Rahul had to say about his dismissal in the 2023 World Cup final (50:08):

"I was just stuck in that moment whether I should take down Mitchell Starc or just see him through and take a chance elsewhere. The ball was reversing and in that confusion, I edged it. Had I batted till the end we could have got 30-40 runs more and probably we could have had the World Cup in our hands so I will regret that."

While India didn't win the World Cup, they won their 10 previous games in a row and KL Rahul lauded the work done by captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid in forming a team culture that made the players feel comfortable. He added (38:22):

"Rohit has brought a lot of calmness to the dressing room. The players also got to know their roles clearly and had enough time to prepare for it. Rohit and Dravid have come together and from the players' point of view I knew we all felt comfortable."

Rahul has played under the captaincy of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He believes that while their styles of captaincy could be different, Rohit has continued the good work that Virat had been doing during his tenure.

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KL Rahul on fan wars

Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about the fan wars that take place when a star cricketer takes over the captaincy from another big name and a similar trend has been seen with the transition from Kohli's Indian team to that of Rohit's.

However, KL Rahul believes the fan wars aren't to be taken seriously and opined (40:48):

"When you become the captain of the Indian team, you of course want to add your one percent but the 90-95 percent work is done by the previous leaders. Its just about taking it forward. So I think fan wars should just be taken in good humor."

KL Rahul is currently leading the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2024 season and have won three out of their six games so far. He took LSG to the playoffs in both of their previous seasons.