Indian veteran comeback man Ajinkya Rahane has opened up about his comeback into the Indian national team following his impactful knock for the 2023 Champions Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. The 34-year-old made a comeback into the side after being dropped for his underwhelming performances for the Indian team in 2021-22.
Ajinkya Rahane has been the redemption of the IPL, as he found his way into the Indian team following his exploits for the MS Dhoni-led side in the IPL. The Indian veteran has scored 326 runs in 11 innings he played, most importantly at an impressive strike rate of 172.48.
Speaking to the BCCI.tv, Ajinkya Rahane is delighted to be back in the Indian team for the World Test Championship final against Australia after 18 months stating that he always wants to bat well irrespective of the format as he wanted to keep things simple in his batting
“I’m really happy to be back with the Indian team after maybe 18, 19 months. This is something really special for me. I want to keep continuing my batting form. I don’t want to think too much about the format, I don’t want to complicate things. The more I keep it simple. It will be better,” Ajinkya Rahane said.
Speaking on the recall to the Indian team, Rahane said that it was an emotional moment for him as he always played for the country at the highest level, and also thankful to his family for supporting him through his journey of comeback into the Indian team.
“It was an emotional moment for me. When I got dropped the support from my family was massive. The dream was still to play for India and that’s what I told my family. I worked hard on my fitness, my game plan, and everything. Went back to domestic cricket, and had a very good domestic season for Mumbai.
“And when I got a call the moment was emotional for me and my family as they backed me a lot, they supported me a lot to go through that period, two years”.
Ajinkya Rahane has reinvented himself in this edition of the Indian Premier League, adding a new dimension to his batting, He made a stunning comeback in this edition of the cash-rich league and revamped himself in IPL 2023.
I Thought Of Enjoying Every Moment – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane revealed that his goal was always to play for the country, as that kept going in domestic cricket, where he played the full season with Mumbai in Ranji Trophy and white-ball cricket and reckons that it is important to learn from every individual to take up his game to the next level.
“When I went back to domestic cricket, for me the dream was still to play for India and that kept me going every time every single day”.
“Rather than thinking about regrets or going in a negative direction, I thought of enjoying every moment. Success and failure throughout that season, helping Mumbai to do well, and learning from every individual. I thought that the learning process helped me a lot,” Ajinkya Rahane added.
The Mumbai-born batter was dropped from the test squad after the conclusion of the South Africa series in 2022, following his string of poor performances in red-ball cricket alongside Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, and Ishant Sharma, of which only Pujara made a comeback into the side in the longer format of the game, Following his impressive show for CSK, Rahane has made his way into the Indian side in absence of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant.