If the word inopportune had a face, it would be KL Rahul's. The 32-year-old India batter made his debut in 2014 as a determined youngster who sought glory with noteworthy performances at the international level. Rising to prominence in the very early phases of his career, the cricketing nation anticipated a star in the making.

However, throughout his journey, Rahul was not just in for a battle on the field but off it as well. Finding his name in some or the other controversy time and again – and through little or no fault of his own – Rahul's cricketing journey has been rather tempestuous. While several other eminent personalities in the sport have never shied away from their gusty exchange of words with one another, Rahul's aura has been more prudent, but unfortunately, he has always ended on the thorny side. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) coach Justin Langer revealing that Rahul told him there's 1000 times more politics and pressure in Indian team is just another example.

His recent schooling by the LSG team owner Sanjiv Goenka in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a side that Rahul led this season, would surely be something he would want to erase from his memory. Despite being the highest scorer for the side, the LSG skipper sought support from the other men but would only end in despair, clearly indicating how things often don't fall into place for him. However, this was not the first time that Rahul faced backlash for a play, he wasn't really the protagonist of.

Approximately five years ago, Rahul was invited to a chat show alongside Hardik Pandya where he landed in an unwanted controversy for making sexist remarks. While Rahul had been fairly careful about his views throughout the episode, some unexpected antics by Pandya led to both getting suspended from the then-ongoing tour of New Zealand in 2019.

The Indian batter did make up for his lost time the same year at the World Cup, where he emerged as the third-highest run-getter for the team. While his performances in Test cricket remained slippery, his limited-overs showings often found him a place in T20Is and ODIs. However, just as his career was smoothing up, another range of blows waited for him to halt his run. Between 2021 and 2023, Rahul's journey was plagued by injuries he sustained one after the other.

More roadblocks

During India's historic test series win against Australia in 2021, Rahul sustained a wrist strain after missing the first two Tests and was eventually ruled out of the series. This was followed by his surgery for acute appendicitis in the same year during the IPL, which caused him to pull out of the season after having played seven matches. Rahul also missed the home Test series against New Zealand in December 2021 due to a thigh strain he picked up.

In 2022, Rahul suffered yet another injury ahead of a home T20I series against South Africa, where he was about to lead the team. This injury caused him to take a long sabbatical from the sport. Rahul's fate denied him yet another chance at the national team after severely injuring his thigh in IPL 2023, costing him a place in the World Test Championship final.

While Rahul has stood his ground in challenging times, his destiny has hardly done any justice to his remarkable talent. Be it unwanted grilling by the spectators or yearning for a chance to bat during rehabs, Rahul has often ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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