Ajinkya Rahane made a comeback to red-ball cricket after a gap of 18 months when he was included in the WTC final against Australia last month
Ajinkya Rahane (Pic: AFP)
Ajinkya Rahane, a veteran of 83 Test matches, was left seemingly a tad irritated when he was asked about his comeback to the national team at the age of 35, insisting he is still young and has a lot of cricket left in him.
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"What do you mean by at this age? I am still young yaar (friend). There's still a lot of cricket in me. I had a good IPL and domestic season. I have grown in confidence as a batter but in the past one and half year I have also worked a lot on my fitness. I have worked on few aspects of my batting. At the moment I am enjoying my cricket. I am not thinking too much about the future. For now every match is important for me," said Rahane, who has been named the India vice-captain for the West Indies series.
"I am used to this role. I was vice-captain for almost four-five years. I am really happy to be back in the team and really happy to be back as a vice-captain," Rahane told reporters on Monday.
Rahane, who was deputy to former skipper Virat Kohli in the past, made a comeback to red-ball cricket after a gap of 18 months when he was included in the World Test Championships final against Australia last month. He returned to the team on the back of a good Ranji season and his impressive run for Chennai Super Kings during the 2023 IPL.
"In the IPL, CSK has given me freedom. As a player when you have been given a role, you try to fulfil it. Before this in the IPL my role was to be an anchor but CSK team management gave me the freedom and they wanted me to play my natural game. I am a natural stroke player. So just my role has changed. I always look to fullfill the role assigned to me and here also I will look to fullfill the role that Rohit gives me," said Rahane, who smashed 326 runs at a strike rate of 172.49.
Also Read: India vs West Indies Test series: Full schedule, squads & live streaming details
India left out Cheteshwar Pujara while senior pacer Mohammed Shami is being rested for the West Indies series and Rahane said it will be a great opportunity for the others to raise their hands.
"It would be great opportunity for that individual who will be playing in place of Pujara. I am not sure who is going to play at No 3 but I am sure whoever will get the chance will do well," he said.
"For the fast bowlers, who are going to play in place of Shami, too will have a great chance. Siraj is there, Jaydev is also experienced. It's an opportunity for everyone to do well.
"Mohammed Shami obviously is a senior bowler, he has done well for us but you need to give rest to him because there is a long season ahead."
Rahane added that India skipper Rohit Sharma gives a lot of freedom to his players and has all the traits of a great captain.
"WTC final was the first game where I played under Rohit Sharma's captaincy. Rohit gives freedom to all the players and those are good traits of a great captain," said Rahane, who had led India to the famous Test series win in Australia in 2019-2020.
India is facing West Indies at a time when their opponents are at an all-time low, having failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup, but Rahane said they are just focusing on their game plan.
"We have played two-day practice game. Preparation wise, we have covered all the areas. It's all about starting well in Test cricket. We respect West Indies. Focus is on our game plan, strength and keep backing our team plan," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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