Fact Check: A fake post claiming that KL Rahul has retired goes viral

Prominent Indian batsman KL Rahul has not declared his retirement from the game. Although it is not true, a picture that has been falsely purported to be from Rahul’s Instagram story has gone viral. The batsman-keeper will participate in the Duleep Trophy, which starts on September 5, after making an appearance for India in the previous ODI series against Sri Lanka.

Naturally, the widely shared image is a Photoshopped screenshot from KL Rahul‘s Instagram story. The athlete announced that he has an announcement to make in a statement posted on his profile on August 22. But later on, that identical post was changed and appeared as a retirement post.

“I have made the decision to announce my retirement from professional cricket after giving it a lot of thought. As the sport has played a big role in my life for a long time, this decision has not been simple,” it said. “I sincerely appreciate all of the help and inspiration I have received throughout the course of my career from my friends, teammates, family, and fans. The memories and experiences I have made, both on and off the pitch, are priceless. It is a privilege to have performed with so many accomplished people and represented my nation.

“Even though I am looking forward to the next chapter, I will always treasure the time I spent playing the game. It said, “Thank you everyone for joining us on this amazing adventure.

KL Rahul stood himself as one of India’s top players at the 2023 ODI World Cup. He made an important block in India’s opening match against Australia and finished the tournament with 11 matches and 452 runs.

His 2024 IPL performance was erratic, and he was left out of India’s T20 World Cup roster. Rahul had a great start to the five-match home Test series against England earlier in the year, which India won 4-1.

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However, he was sidelined for the remainder of the series due to a quadriceps injury, which he sustained in Hyderabad. Since Rishabh Pant has also returned, Dhruv Jurel has performed admirably in his absence, placing KL Rahul in a difficult situation.