Ajinkya Rahane feels that the lack of red-ball cricket at the domestic level has affected his form in recent Tests. The veteran batsman is also of the opinion that he was doing well in ODIs between 2014 and 2017 before being suddenly dropped. The Indian team management is laying out a plan to move on from Ishant Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests.
Ajinkya Rahane hasn’t been in India’s white-ball cricket plans since 2017. Following a torrid run of form in red-ball cricket, Ajinkya Rahane’s career in India’s Test side also seems to be coming to an end. The 33-year-old blamed absence of the Ranji Trophy for his poor form in red-ball cricket.
Ajinkya Rahane Blames Lack Of Ranji Trophy Due To Covid-19 For His Poor Form In Recent Tests
Ajinkya Rahane has been surrounded by many discussions of late due to loss of form. Be it his form, the fact that he no longer is India’s Test vice-captain or his future in the Test team, Ajinkya Rahane’s career has been subjected to plenty of discussions in recent times.
In an interview on Backstage with Boria, the veteran batsman spoke about a lot of buzzing topics on the current stage of his career. While Ajinkya Rahane dropped a bombshell about India’s tour of Australia, he has also given a sharp response to critics questioning his recent form.
Ajinkya Rahane, during the chat, said that the absence of the Ranji Trophy has really affected him as cricketing opportunities have only been coming in bits and pieces, considering he is no longer considered in white-ball cricket.
“Sometimes, the reality is, when you play only one format and especially in the last 2-3 years where there is no Ranji cricket and no other domestic games, I think that needs to be taken into account because you can’t score runs sitting at home,” Rahane said.
“No matter how much you practice or have net sessions, the confidence will not be gained with that. Confidence comes with game time and scoring runs in matches,” he explained.
Scoring at an average of just above 20, Ajinkya Rahane managed to fetch just 136 runs from the three Tests in South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane is back playing Ranji Trophy, with the 2022 season set to start. However, with the selectors also expected to announce India’s squad for the Sri Lanka series in the coming week or so, it is unlikely that Ajinkya Rahane will get the nod. Ajinkya Rahane will be playing for Mumbai under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw.
Ajinkya Rahane Also Rued His Unexplained Exit From ODI Cricket Despite Doing Reasonably Well Between 2014-2017
The 33-year-old also rued his ‘unexplained’ exit from India’s ODI side. Ajinkya Rahane feels that he was doing reasonably well between 2014 and 2017. But then, he got dropped from the 50-over format while opportunities in Test cricket have been coming after lengthy gaps.
“Before that, I was playing ODI cricket continuously for Team India and I was doing really well. Suddenly, I got dropped, I don’t want to go into that, I don’t want to go into my past but the reality is I was playing well in 2014, 15, 16, and 17. ODI and Test cricket both were going really well. After that I hardly got game time, there was a huge gap between Test matches,” said Rahane.
On being asked about his future, Ajinkya Rahane said that he continues to believe in himself and still feels he has a lot of cricket left.
“Sometimes, I used to smile within because of the fact that whatever I did in the field, I won’t be able to boast about whatever I did on the field because I’m someone who can’t talk high about himself, but I knew what all I did on the field. Yes, I believe in my abilities. I’ve been batting really well and I believe I still have good cricket left in me”.
Ajinkya Rahane has played 90 ODIs, averaging 35.26 and striking at 78.63 runs per 100 balls. On his ODI comeback in South Africa in early 2018, after a successful ODI series against visitors Australia in 2017, he played all 6 matches, averaging 35 with a strike rate of 76.92. He scored a 79 and an unbeaten 34 in two of the matches, where he batted at No. 4, but he never played after that in ODIs. India won that series 5-1.