KL Rahul eyes return to T20I side for 2026 World Cup
The wicket-keeper batsman who has been a mainstay in ODIs hasn't played a T20I since November 2022
India's star batter KL Rahul has opened up about his ambitions to return to the T20I side, while speaking in an interview to Sky Sports News stating that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is firmly on his radar for next year.
The 33-year-old missed out on a call-up during India’s victorious 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
He has not featured for the Men in Blue in the shortest format since the 2022 World Cup in Australia, where England beat India by 10 wickets in the semi-finals at Adelaide.
India lift the trophy | SA v IND | T20WC 2024 Final
Rahul admits his time away has offered him a chance to reflect, reset, and recalibrate his white-ball game.
“I obviously had some time to think about my white-ball game, I was quite happy with my performances and where I was,”
"Yes, I want to get back in the T20I team and the World Cup is in my mind, but for now it's just trying to enjoy how I'm playing right now," said the wicketkeeper-batter.
Rahul has been a consistent performer in ODIs and believes the break from T20I cricket has helped him gain valuable perspective on how he should go ahead with his batting.
He was in spectacular form in India’s victorious 2025 Champions Trophy campaign earlier this year, scoring 140 runs in 5 matches, striking at a steady 97.90 as he played a crucial role in the middle order alongside Shreyas Iyer.
“So, overall, (I was) just sitting and thinking about where I can get better, where the game's gone and what I need to do to catch up with the game and what can I do to perform and get back in the T20I team, what can I do to become an important player for my team in ODI and T20I, overall in white-ball cricket.”
Every KL Rahul Boundary | Champions Trophy 2025
Every KL Rahul Boundary | Champions Trophy 2025
He credits former India batting coach, Abhishek Nayar in helping him make changes to his game.
“I've come up with certain things obviously with the help of coaches that I've worked with, Abhishek Nayar is one of the guys I've worked with quite a lot in the last 12 months. He really helped me change my thinking and helped me work on my game."
Rahul has been a standout performer for his Indian Premier League franchise, Delhi Capitals, being their top scorer with 539 runs across 13 innings at an impressive strike rate of 149.72.
This is a significant rise in his strike rate compared to 136.12 in 2024, 113.22 in 2023, 135.38 in 2022, 138.80 in 2021 and 129.34 in 2020.
However, he faces stiff competition for a spot in the T20I setup with fellow wicketkeeper-batter, Sanju Samson at the top of the order with other options on the horizon such as Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel.
Rahul’s next assignment with India is the five-match Test series against England, where he is mooted to return to the top of the order and play a key role in the leadership group, following the retirements of veterans, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The first Test is scheduled to begin on June 20, at Headingley.