Follow UsWhen Ajinkya Rahane played his last Test in 2022 against South Africa, the curtains were well and truly drawn on his Test career. None really expected the Mumbaikar to make a comeback, considering the steady growth of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in that Indian Test middle-order.
But that never stopped Rahane from being at his determinant best, with a top-notch display for Mumbai in the last edition of the Ranji Trophy scoring 634 runs at an average of 634. However, the biggest impact that he made was during the 2023 season of IPL, wherein he scored 326 runs with a strike-rate of 172.49, earning himself a call-up to the national team for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“Coming back after 18-19 months, whatever has happened, good or bad, I don’t want to think about my past. I just want to start afresh and keep doing whatever I have been doing,” Rahane told BCCI.TV ahead of the WTC final.
Rahane also spoke about his experience of playing in the IPL with CSK, stating that the comeback to the national team was ‘emotional’ to him.
“Personally enjoyed playing for CSK as I have been batting well throughout the season, even before IPL. I had a very good domestic season and I felt good. So this comeback was a bit emotional for me.”
There were big questions of whether he would change his approach given that it is a big encounter, and Rahane answered those stating that he wouldn’t want to ‘complicate things’ and focus on keeping things simple.
“I want to bat with the same mindset and show same intent that I showed before coming here in IPL and Ranji Trophy. I would not like to think about format whether it is T20 or Tests. The way I am batting now, I don’t want to complicate things and the more I keep it simple, better it is for me,” the veteran added.
Since his exit from the team, Rahul Dravid has been at the helm of things, with Rohit Sharma leading the team across all three formats. Rahane also spoke about the ‘team culture’ stating that it has helped the team well, with the atmosphere in the dressing room.
“I thought culture in team now is really good. Rohit is handling the team really well and I am sure Rahul bhai is also handling the team really well. That helps as well and atmosphere is really good. Whatever I am seeing right now is that everyone is enjoying each other’s company,” he said.
Rahane doesn't have the best of records in England but the Mumbaikar reckoned that the key to playing in England, where conditions are more often than not bowler friendly is to stay in the moment.
“It’s all about mindset and reading the situation well, staying in (the) moment and playing it session by session. In England, you just don’t look at the pitch but also keep an eye on the weather. In England, you never feel that you are in even if you are batting on 70,” he said.