The 2023 World Test Championship final will mark the return of Ajinkya Rahane to Team India’s test squad after a year. He was recalled by the Indian selectors on the back of a decent domestic season, and his astonishing performance in the Indian Premier League. The veteran batter expressed that it feels special to be back to the Test team.
Ajinkya Rahane last played a Test for India in 2022, against South Africa in Cape Town. He was dropped from the team, following his poor run in Test cricket. The right-handed batter played domestic cricket, and ended the Ranji Trophy, as the leading run-scorer for Mumbai. He continued the good run in the Indian Premier League, taking everyone surprised with his 2.0 version.
In an interview with the BCC.tv ahead of the World Test Championship final, Ajinkya Rahane said,
“Even before the IPL, I had a good domestic season. Batting-wise, I felt really good. Coming into Test cricket now, after a long time… firstly, really happy to be back after 18-19 months. It’s something really special for me.”
“I just want to keep continuing my batting form. I don’t want to think too much about formats whether T20 or Test cricket. The way I am batting right now, I don’t want to complicate things, the more I keep it simple, the better so I just want to keep it simple and enjoy my batting,” he added.
Emotions on #TeamIndia comeback ☺️
Preps for the #WTC23 🙌
Support from family & friends 👍In conversation with comeback man @ajinkyarahane88 👌👌 – By @RajalArora
Full Interview 🎥🔽
https://t.co/hUBvZ5rvYD pic.twitter.com/vJINbplobY— BCCI (@BCCI) June 3, 2023
The moment was very emotional for me: Ajinkya Rahane on his comeback call to the Test squad
Ajinkya Rahane further expressed that it was an emotional moment for him to receive a comeback call to the Test squad for the World Test Championship final. He also acknowledged the support from his family, when he was dropped from the team. The veteran batter added that he worked on fitness and performed well for Mumbai to earn the comeback call.
“It was an emotional moment for me coming back after 18-19 months. When I was dropped, the support from my family was really important. The dream was still to play for India,” he said.
I worked hard on my fitness, my batting and went back to domestic cricket (and worked on) my game plan and everything, had a good domestic season for Mumbai and when I got the call, the moment was very emotional for me,” he added.
Ajinkya Rahane wants to keep a positive mindset heading into the World Test Championship final. He said, “I just want to keep my mindset positive, keep whatever intent I had before coming here in T20 and Ranji Trophy going. I’ll try and keep it as simple as possible and just try and be in the moment.”
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