NEW DELHI: India star batter KL Rahul on Monday shared a heartfelt post for his father-in-law and actor Suniel Shetty on his birthday. Rahul took to Instagram and posted a picture with Suniel and brother-in-law Ahan Shetty. “Happy happy birthday Ajja. Keep inspiring us with everything you do. And pls rest more,” KL Rahul wrote.Rahul’s wife Athiya also penned a loving note: “Happy birthday to the best father and now the best Ajja. We love you sooo much! Thank you for all that you are.”Suniel Shetty was recently in London with his family, attending the India vs England match at The Oval. Both Suniel and his son Ahan shared moments from the game as they celebrated India’s historic win.Rahul himself had an impressive series in England, scoring 532 runs at an average of 53.20, including two centuries and two half-centuries.
After India registered a 2-2 draw in the five-match series against England, Rahul said the result “will rank right at the top” among the biggest moments of Indian cricket, especially since it was achieved by a team that “wasn’t given a chance” in the absence of giants like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.Led by Mohammed Siraj’s extraordinary bowling effort, which fetched him a five-wicket haul in the second innings, India scraped past England by six runs in the series-deciding fifth and final Test. The victory sealed the 2-2 draw in a hard-fought series that saw India repeatedly claw back from difficult situations.“We have seen India lift the World Cup, I mean nothing compares to lifting the World Cup. But so many doubts, so many questions from everybody about whether Test cricket will stay or not. I think both the teams and the way we’ve played in this series, I think we’ve answered that question,” Rahul said at the post-match press conference.“For us as a team, that wasn’t given a chance in this series. And for us to fight back and to fight in every game and to get a result which is 2-2 might seem like a drop. But for us and for Indian Test cricket going in the future, I think this will rank right at the top,” he added.He expressed confidence that the Indian Test team will go on to win many more series “outside of India” and credited the entire squad.“For the start of the series, we had Virat Kohli retiring, Rohit Sharma retiring, we had Ashwin retiring. So three big names out of the roster in India’s team,” he pointed out.
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Now a senior player, Rahul emerged as one of India’s standout performers with 532 runs across the five Tests, forging a solid partnership with the young Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top.“Yeah, I think it hit me when I joined the team. I was here about two weeks earlier playing India A’s and it didn’t hit me back then. But once I joined the team and I looked around and I didn’t have Rohit and Virat and Ashwin who I played all my cricket with…“Just to look around and not see them felt a bit weird. But yeah, that’s when it hit me that everyone else is looking at me, coming to me to ask about English conditions, what they need to do, how they need to prepare.”Rahul said he leaned on his experience to not only perform but also guide the younger players.“And that’s when it hit me that, okay, I’ve stepped into a different role now and it’s time for me to help the younger guys. Use all the experience I’ve had of playing Test cricket and international cricket over the years and really put my hand up and stand up for this team.“This moment almost feels like this is a young team that’s going to stay there for a long time.”While new skipper Shubman Gill topped the scoring charts with over 700 runs, Rahul wasn’t far behind, providing stability at the top of the order with his calm and composed batting.
