Beyond the fame and glamour, The dark reality of a sportsman's life is that the shell life remains extremely short, and retirement is an inevitable reality. Star Indian cricketer KL Rahul acknowledged the same and revealed he has already started to plan life after he bids adieu to the sport.
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper admitted that the realisation that his cricket career will soon end hit him on his 30th birthday. The 32-year-old confessed that he can see that not long is left before he will retire from the sport.
"There is no insecurity, but there is a feeling that all this ends, and for me it ends very quickly. If you are fit enough, you can play till 40. That is the maximum someone has played. Yes, there is MS Dhoni, who is 43 and is still playing. You can play the IPL and all of that, but not at the international level for too long. There is a fear and realisation that shell life is really small for an athlete, and you need to make the most of it within whatever time you have," said Rahul on a podcast on Nikhil Kamath's Youtube channel also featuring Kriti Sanon and Badhsah.
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"For me, the anxiety was when I hit 30. I could see the end of the tunnel. Till I was 29, I could not see that. Some weird thing happened on my 30th birthday. I could see I have 10 more years to play cricket, and that gave me anxiety, and that is the first time I felt like 'This comes to an end at some point.' All I have done all my life is 'Cricket, Cricket, Cricket,' without imagining this comes to an end. Now I can see it. It is not too far away," Rahul added.
Rahul admitted that his earnings will take a major dip once his cricket career ends and revealed he has already started planning for life post retirement.
"I don't know. That is part of the reason I have started thinking about businesses and investing my money right. So that my life after cricket is taken care of. I know there will be a huge dip in the amount I earn after I retire. COVID for me happened at the right time where it gave me time to sit and research how I can invest my money. You generally lean on your family to guide you when you start earning, but I did not have that. All this is new for my father too.
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"I met some good people. I have some good friends who gave my guidance. I am trying to set up a few things before I retire so that when I retire that transition from an athlete to doing something in business will be smooth and make me happier than not knowing what to do," Rahul further revealed.
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Rahul is currently looking to make a comeback into the Indian Test team and will feature in the 2024 Duleep Trophy starting from September 5, which could have a huge bearing on whether or not he makes it to the Indian Test team. The star batter missed the last four Tests of the series against England earlier this year due to an injury. In his absence, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel made their debuts and impressed by playing a key role in the series victory.
He missed out on India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph after being left out of the 15-man squad. The 32-year-old has not played a T20I for India for almost two years after losing his spot in the team post the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to England.
Rahul remains a key member of India's ODI squad heading into the 2025 Champions Trophy but was dropped from the playing XI for the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this month
There also doubts over his future in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with rumours that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) could release him ahead of the 2025 mega auction. However, he is certain to spark a bidding war if his name comes up for grabs.