On his arrival to international cricket, Ajinkya Rahane was deemed to a limited overs specialist, especially of the shortest format of the game as he started off his career with a half-century against England. Though he made it to the Test squad, did not get a chance for 16 months. During the period, he saw himself confined to just limited overs cricket before finally making his Test debut in 2013.
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The destiny took a turn then and now, the only format which he is a permanent member of is Test cricket. He is just a member of 15 members in ODIs and isn’t given a favour in the shortest format of the game. For the series against Australia as well, he isn’t in the squad, which seems to be a harsh decision considering his recent form in ODI cricket.
Commenting on his recent dropping, Rahane said that he respects the selector’s decision,
“Yes, so much cricket we play, the team management, selectors take a decision and we respect it. Speaking about the competition, it is necessary and it helps you to give your best performance. Whoever gets a chance does well for the team. I have always enjoyed the competition (among players),” Rahane said.
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The part-time Indian opener scored a total of four half-centuries in the ODI series against Australia but also missed an opportunity to touch the three-figure mark. It was an opportunity lost for Rahane, but he is optimistic of concerting 50s into 100s in future,
“I could have converted the fifties into hundreds. It was in my mind to contribute, I shared three 100-run stands with Rohit (Sharma) and our aim was to give a good start to the team. In the future series if I get a chance I will convert the 50s into 100s,” he added.
Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan made his comeback to the international circuit and even if wasn’t available, then also Rahane would not have considered for selection in the shortest format of the game.
Along with Shikhar, Ashish Nehra has also made a comeback to T20Is whereas Dinesh Karthik was preferred over Rishab Pant for the wicketkeeping duties in the shortest format of the game.
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