Two years ago, former Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane made the nation proud as he led the Indian cricket team to a historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia. He was the captain of Team India that famously came from behind to defeat Australia in their own backyard in the 2020–21 Border Gavaskar Trophy. In fact, his last century came in that series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2020. However, he is currently not a part of the Indian squad.
The 34-year-old cricketer made his last Test appearance for India against South Africa in January 2022 and ever since then he has not played a single game. Rahane was dropped from the home series against Sri Lanka and then he wasn’t even considered for the 5th Test match against England in July and also for the ongoing series against Bangladesh. Rahane was replaced by Shreyas Iyer in the Indian setup and the young talented batter grabbed the opportunity and made the most of it, making things more difficult for the former vice-captain.
However, Rahane hasn’t given up on hopes of playing for the Indian cricket team. He made a blockbuster return to the Ranji Trophy and smashed a double century (204) during Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy game against Hyderabad on Wednesday. After the match, while speaking to reporters, Ajinkya said:
“One thing is for sure, I will never give up. For me, the dream is to still play for India.”
Furthermore, Rahane also talked about his dip in form because of which he lost his place in the Indian squad. When Rahane was going through a tough time, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were also going through a lean patch during this period. According to Rahane, one of the main reasons for the drop in the numbers of these cricketers is the type of wickets that were prepared in India at the time. He said:
“If we look at the averages, they have gone down because of the wickets, because as a batter, it is always challenging. For openers, it is easy, especially in India when the ball is hard. When batters get out, we always think about the mistakes they are committing. But then No. 3-4-5—Pujara, Virat, and me… all of our averages have gone down. So, I don’t think I was committing any mistakes. Yes, as a player, I always focus on where to improve, but every time we don’t commit mistakes, sometimes the wickets are such…it’s not an excuse, but that’s the reality. Everyone was watching, so they know what kind of wickets were prepared in India,”
Rahane said that he is now playing with “no baggage” and is trying to emulate the old Rahane who played with freedom and fearlessly during his under-19 days. He said:
“I don’t want to prove anything to anyone. I think my competition is with myself. If I stick to that, things will fall into place. I don’t want to run after anything… just want to back my game,”
He added: “There is no point in being disappointed as things are not in my control. For me, my attitude matters the most. Because of my attitude and my work ethic, I have managed to reach this stage of my life and now I don’t want to change anything.”
