'We athletes truly need support': KL Rahul opens up about social media trolling

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain and Indian cricket star KL Rahul opened up about the trolling the player has received over the past year. 

Appearing on ‘The Ranveer Show’, Rahul discussed being on the receiving end of ruthless trolling in the past year. The LSG captain gave insight into the development of his perspective following the trolling and how it shaped the way he approached cricket. 

Rahul had a bad run of form over the past year, setting him up as a primary target for internet trolls. A disappointing start to the test series against Australia, where he scored 37 runs in 2 matches, resulted in Rahul getting dropped before the third test. The hailed batsman recovered form with an improved strike rate in ODI’s and in the Indian Premier League, but his performance continues to be a topic of contention among fans as well as ex-players. 

“That's something that sometimes affects me and affects a lot of the other boys as well that when we athletes truly need support, people feel they can or have the power to comment or say what they want. Just see what that person is going through,” Rahul said. 

“None of us wants to perform badly. This is our life. This is all we do. Like I said, I don't know anything else apart from cricket,” he added.

When asked about how he dealt with relentless trolling and discussions surrounding him, Rahul stated that he avoided reading anything discussing him, and while it was good to read the positives, it meant opening up to the negatives as well. 

"There are people who stand up and support the players which is good but something I personally try to do is to stay away from both. That is I mean you have to, I do feel like sometimes you do want to listen to people saying good things about you, but you also realize that, if you get sucked into that and then be ready to face the other side,” the player said.

Defending his work ethic and dedication towards the sport and his team, Rahul stated that the very nature of sports makes it so that hard work does not always equate to good results. 

“That's the only thing I do. Why would anyone assume that I am not serious about my game or that I am not working hard enough? And unfortunately in sports, there is no connection. Like I said you can work hard, like I work hard but the result didn't go my way,” Rahul added

Despite regaining form, Rahul was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to an injury, cutting short his road to redemption. 

Previously, Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, who also appeared in the show, stated that Rahul’s run of form had been fine, but criticizing the player had become a trend.