Not thinking too much about the future, India batting star Ajinkya Rahane has said his performance in the recently concluded One-Day International series against West Indies will give him the much-needed confidence for the limited-overs format.
One of the batting mainstays in India’s Test team, Rahane has struggled to get going on a consistent basis in the shorter formats of the game. He was given a chance to cement his spot in the team after being asked to open the innings in the ODI series against New Zealand last year but squandered it, managing just 143 runs in five matches.
And with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan looking in supreme form in the Champions Trophy, he was looking destined to warm the bench for a long time. However, the much-needed opportunity came for him when the team management rested Rohit for the West Indies series and the right-handed batsman has totally capitalised on it.
The 29-year-old finished the five-match series as its highest scorer, amassing 336 runs at an average of over 67 with the help of three half-centuries and one century and deservedly bagged the Man of the Series award. And while his place in the playing XI will come under threat when Rohit Sharma returns to the team, the Mumbai batsman is not bothered too much about it and is also ready to bat at any position as per the team’s need.
“See, what is going to happen in the future we don’t know. This series will give me a lot of confidence especially for the ODI and shorter format. If the team management thinks I should bat at No.4 or at No.1 and 2 then I will always be giving my 100 percent on that. I am not sure what is going to happen in the future, but I always like to give my best in ODI and T20 formats. I am looking forward to doing well consistently in ODI format,” Rahane told bcci.tv.
“I actually batted at No.4. Even at World Cup I batted at No.4, scored against South Africa, so I know how to handle batting at Nos.3, 4 and 5. It is not a big issue but we’ll have to wait and watch and see what’s going to happen,” he added.
Rahane further said that the series was important for him after he did not get to play a single game in the Champions Trophy.
“This series was really important for me as I got a chance after some time. I didn’t play the ICC Champions Trophy. We came here. Virat told me you are going to play all the games. So actually I was looking forward to that. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself. I just wanted to enjoy myself in the middle. I took my time. When we came here, we had a couple of practice sessions and even in England, I was batting well (in the nets). So I just had to make it count as I mentioned but importantly I wanted to express myself with the bat,” he said.
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