Became very difficult for me to keep myself motivated: KL Rahul opens up on bio-bubbles

While it was fine initially, India batter KL Rahul says it became increasingly difficult to motivate himself while constantly being in a bio-bubble.

After the ODI series against West Indies, Rahul did not feature in the T20Is due to a hamstring injury and also missed Tests and T20Is against Sri Lanka. 

“It became very difficult for me to keep myself motivated. The first few bubbles I did manage. Because I kept asking myself, ‘Where else can I be? What else can I do? Nothing," Rahul said in a conversation on ‘Red Bull Cricket’ on Clubhouse. 

"Cricket is the only thing I am good at and this is the thing I have chosen, so I owe it to myself. I kept pushing myself that way. But the last couple of months were very difficult.

"Shreyas [Iyer] and I were chatting about how it’s getting more difficult especially when your families can’t come and be with you. You need your family, your friends to just feel normal. We stopped feeling normal. We had to sleep, wake up, go to the ground. It just became a routine. It started getting very difficult," Rahul said.

However, the 29-year-old, who will lead Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, said that the only positive of the bubbles have been the fact that he has gotten to know his teammates better, especially at a personal level.

“The good thing was the bubble, the quarantines got the players together, we got to know each other better," Rahul said.

"I have gotten to know the players I have been with for 4-5 years better on a personal level and formed a much deeper friendship. 

"You are constantly improving because you are chatting with your fellow players about the game. That’s all we know to be honest. We only know about cricket."

Rahul-led LSG will take on fellow newbies Gujarat Titans in their first match of IPL 2022 on Monday (March 28) at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.