At 33, Rahul remains a key presence across formats, but his tine was revealing firm about not overstaying, reflective about family, and blunt about the one opponent has has repeatedly forced him to pause – his own body.
“I’ve (thought about it). I don’t think it’s gonna be difficult,” KL Rahul answered when asked about retirement. “If you’re honest with yourself, when it’s time, it’s time. And there’s no point dragging it. Obviously, I’m some time away,” he further added.
The numbers underline why he can say that without sounding like he’s packing his bags. Rahul has scored 4,053 runs in 67 Tests at an average of 35.80 and 3,360 runs in 94 ODIs at 50.90. In T20Is, he has 2,265 runs from 72 matches at 37.75, with a strike rate of 139.
But Rahul’s point wasn’t statistical. It was psychological: the hard part is not letting the game convince you that you are indispensable. It is a mindset he says he has carried for a while, sharpened by fatherhood into something more personal than philosophy.
“Just quit. Just enjoy the stuff that you’ve got and you have your family and just do that. That’s the hardest battle. So I try and tell myself that I’m not that important. Cricket in our country will carry on. Cricket in the world will carry on. There are more important things in life and I think this mindset I’ve always had, but ever since I’ve had my first baby, it’s just like, the way you look at life is completely different,” he added.
That perspective also frames his most honest admission: injuries. Not criticism, not selection noise, not form, have been his real war. The repeated cycle of breakdown and comeback has tested more than muscle and bone; it has tested belief and continuity.
“There have been times when I’m injured and I’ve been injured so many times and that is the hardest battle that you have to face. It’s not the pain that the physio puts you through or the surgeon puts you through,” he said.
KL Rahul isn’t counting the days, but he is counting the cost, it seems, and making it clear that when balance tips, he wants to be the one holding the pen. In an era where exits are often delayed by ego or noise, his message landed with unusual clarity: know when it’s time, and don’t be afraid of what comes after.