KL Rahul Relishes Return to Bengaluru Ahead of New Zealand Test Series

Bengaluru, October 16, 2024: Ahead of the three-match Test series against New Zealand, India’s middle-order batter KL Rahul expressed his excitement about playing on his home ground, stating that “it’s always special to come back here.”

The first Test of the series will be held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from October 16 to 20, followed by the second Test in Pune from October 24 to 28, and the final match in Pune from November 1 to 5.

“It’s always special for me to come back here, always special to come back to your home ground and the place where you have grown up, played all your cricket. The feeling for me as an 11-year-old boy who came here the first time to play a game, that feeling for me hasn’t changed. I still remember that feeling so many years later as well. So yeah, it’s always special to come back home. From the time you leave the dressing room and walk out to the middle, there are so many emotions that go through you, so many memories that come back in two minutes,” Rahul said in a video posted by BCCI.

He added, “I mean, from age-group cricket to when we were playing Ranji Trophy cricket, that used to be where we had breakfast—you know, finish our breakfast, come to the ground and start our training, finish our training, and go back there for lunch. We spent a lot of time in the canteen and the clubhouse behind and at the ground. I haven’t been there in the last year or so. I don’t know if that place has changed now.”

India announced a 15-player squad on Friday for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma will lead the side, while the vice-captaincy, which was left vacant for the Bangladesh series, has now been officially handed to star pacer Jasprit Bumrah for the three Tests.

India’s squad for the three Tests against New Zealand:

• Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

Travelling reserves: Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav, and Prasidh Krishna.