‘It's for my...,’ KL Rahul shares reason for his celebration after the ton vs WI

KL Rahul dedicated his 11th century celebration against the West Indies at Ahmedabad, to his daughter, Evaarah, born in March 2025. He also shared his thoughts on his great few months with bat.

KL Rahul celebrating his 11th test ton. Image | BCCI on X

KL Rahul dedicated his special century celebration against the West Indies to his daughter, revealing a personal reason behind the memorable moment. The Indian batsman shared insights into his recent form, the challenges of playing in varied conditions, and the mental adjustments he has made to improve his game, particularly in home conditions.

“Really enjoying my batting:” KL Rahul

Rahul expressed that he has been thoroughly enjoying his batting over the last few months, highlighting the enrichment gained from playing in different environments. Reflecting on his experience in England, he mentioned how scoring runs there greatly boosted his confidence.

Rahul acknowledged that coming into the game against the West Indies with runs already under his belt helped him feel fresher and more prepared after a relatively long break following the previous series. The batter emphasized that being back on the field and actively competing filled him with renewed enthusiasm.

“Really enjoying my batting. Playing in different conditions. England was fun. Obviously, getting runs there gives you a lot of confidence. Coming into this game with some runs behind me also helped. Feeling fresher after a longish break after the series. Yeah, really enjoy being back,” Rahul said to the broadcasters after the play of Day 2.

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“The conditions here have been really, really challenging physically. The game that I played last week was even worse. So yeah, physically it's been really challenging. But yeah, it's good to be out in the middle. And it was good for me to have that game and get some miles in,” Rahul added.

“Just enjoying the phases that are not as exciting:” Rahul

When asked about the differences and difficulties of playing at home compared to overseas, Rahul admitted he was not entirely sure. He did, however, identify a key change he has worked on over the past year: maintaining his batting tempo.

Rahul explained that adjusting his mindset to enjoy phases in an innings that are less exciting has been crucial to his development. Rahul shed light on how international conditions, especially in places like England with seaming, swinging balls, and extra bounce, present distinct challenges.

In contrast, playing at home often involves facing spinners and spread-out fields, which demand a different approach, more focus on grinding innings with singles and doubles rather than relying on boundaries, which are harder to come by.

“I think the only thing that I've worked on in the last year or so has been maintaining my batting tempo. Just enjoying the phases that are not as exciting. For me, in my own head, obviously when you travel abroad and play in seaming, swinging conditions with extra bounce, there's a lot of challenge doing that. And when we come back home, when there's three spinners playing and the field's spread out, you really need to dig in and need to get your runs with singles. The boundaries don't come that easily. So yeah, that's something that I've worked on,” Rahul added.

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“It’s for my daughter”

On the celebration after his century, Rahul kept it simple and heartfelt, stating, "It's for my daughter, bro."

Athiya Shetty, KL Rahul’s wife, also acknowledged that the celebration from the Indian batter was for their daughter, Evaarah via her Instagram story.

Evraarh was born in March 2025, and since then, KL Rahul has had a great time on the field, including a good IPL 2025 and a fantastic England series earlier this year. Rahul has always expressed that he has changed a lot after becoming a father and he has become calm and composed after the birth of his daughter.

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