Following that performance, he was selected into the AIFF Elite Academy who was preparing for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be hosted in India.

[12][13] The Blasters later confirmed that Rahul had suffered a partial tear on the groin muscle and would be out of action for minimum four weeks.

[14][15][16] He came back to pitch in the match against Hyderabad on 23 February 2022, where he assisted to the only goal scored by the Blasters in their 2–1 defeat against the Nizams.

[19] On 25 November 2022, Rahul assisted Sahal for a goal in the 85th minute in a 3–0 away win against NorthEast United FC and won the Hero of the Match Award.

[22] Rahul was sent-off after receiving a second yellow against ATK Mohun Bagan in the returning fixture on 18 February, as the Blasters lost the match by a score of 2–1.

[24] He played his first match of the tournament on 8 April as a substitute against RoundGlass Punjab FC for the Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos in the 67th minute,[25] which they won 3–1 after Rahul scored the last goal for the Blasters in the last seconds of the additional time.

[26] Rahul began his 2023–24 season with the match against Gokulam Kerala FC on 13 August 2023 in the 2023 Durand Cup tournament, where he came in as a substitute for Nihal Sudeesh, but they lost by the score of 3–4 at full-time.

On 20 September 2022, Rahul was named in India's squad for the Hung Tinh Friendly football tournament in Vietnam.

He made his first senior appearance for India on 24 September 2022 in a 1–1 draw against Singapore by coming as a substitute for Ashique Kuruniyan in the 68th minute.