Ajinkya Rahane will be in the Delhi Capitals dugout for the first time after stints with Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Rising Pune Supergiants in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) which is all set to commence from September 19 in the UAE. He was traded to Delhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals in the IPL player auction of 2020.
Rajasthan Royals got young spinner Mayank Markande and bowling all-rounder Rahul Tewatia in exchange for the senior India batsman who was released despite scoring his second century in the previous 2019 edition. His performances in 2017 and 2018 were not up to the mark and he played his last T20I in 2016 and ODI in 2018. But he still remains the vice-captain of the Test team. Ajinkya Rahane had scored 3820 runs from 140 matches at a decent average of 32.93 which includes 2 tons in IPL.
Ajinkya Rahane Playing For Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane Said Now BCCI President And Former DC Advisor Sourav Ganguly Had Encouraged Him To Join Delhi Capitals
Ajinkya Rahane recently revealed how Sourav Ganguly, former advisor of Delhi Capitals encouraged him to join the franchise last year. He was busy in playing county cricket in England while Sourav Ganguly was busy doing commentary during the 2019 World Cup when the former Indian captain met the senior batsman and asked him if he would like to join Delhi Capitals. Later Sourav Ganguly had to relinquish his post of Delhi Capitals’ advisor after becoming BCCI president last year.
“I am really excited to play for the Delhi Capitals. I remember when I was in Hampshire last year and was playing country cricket, Sourav Ganguly was covering India’s World Cup game. He asked me whether I wanted to play and told me to take my time,” Rahane in an interview with Sports Tak.
Sourav Ganguly Was Previously A Mentor Of Delhi Capitals
“I took my time and the fact that I would get to play under Ganguly and Ponting I felt would help my growth as a player. But as I said, Rajasthan Royals gave me an opportunity and I am grateful to them,” he added.
After speaking to Sourav Ganguly, Ajinkya Rahane was attracted by the prospect of working under him and Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting which prompted him to take the decision of joining the franchise.
Ajinkya Rahane Prefers Opening But Can Bat At Any Position
Ajinkya Rahane will be appearing for Delhi Capitals in the forthcoming season and will be looking to make an impact straight away for the side. The senior batsman said an opening role will be preferred but he is ready to bat at any position for the team.
“In T20s I have always opened and even in domestic cricket and in the IPL I have opened. So yes opening is my favourite position. But I have always believed in giving my best to the team wherever they need me to be. So even if Delhi Capitals tell me to bat in the middle order and although opening is my preference, I am even ready for that as a cricketer and as a professional athlete,” said Rahane.
Ajinkya Rahane (Image Credit: Google)
Ajinkya Rahane, the most capped player for Rajasthan Royals having played for them in 2011-2015 and 2018 and 2019, has been a regular in IPL since the inaugural season in 2008 when he represented Mumbai Indians till 2010. Apart from the two teams, he represented Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 2017 when Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years for involvement in match-fixing.
Delhi Capitals will be utilizing his expertise in the next season as they aim to lift their maiden title in the UAE. Delhi Capitals are yet to lift the IPL even once despite having some big names in the past like Trent Boult, Carlos Braithwaite, Paul Collingwood, Nathan Counter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Quinton De Kock, Glenn Maxwell, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan to name a few. This year they have Jason Roy, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Kagiso Rabada as some foreigners apart from Indians like Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma apart from the trade-in duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Ravi Ashwin.
