Ajinkya Rahane, the vice-captain of the Indian Test team, responded cleverly to a question about his comeback to international cricket at this stage of his career. He confidently stated that he is still young and has many years of cricket left in him.
After a successful season with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Rahane was selected for the World Test Championship final against Australia. Although India lost the final, Rahane performed well, scoring 89 and 46 runs.
Rahane will soon be seen in action again as India faces West Indies in a two-match Test series. During a press conference before the first Test, he was asked about his thoughts on making a Test comeback at the age of 35.
“Just the role has changed, nothing else” – Ajinkya Rahane
That's one colourful fielding drill 😃👌#TeamIndia sharpen their reflexes ahead of the first Test against West Indies 😎#WIvIND pic.twitter.com/FUtRjyLViI
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 10, 2023
In a witty response, Rahane said that age doesn’t matter and emphasized that he still considers himself young. He mentioned his good performances in the IPL and domestic cricket, expressing confidence in his batting.
He also revealed that he has worked on certain aspects of his game and is enjoying his cricket at the moment. His focus is on each match and he is not thinking too far ahead.
Regarding his re-appointment as vice-captain, Rahane mentioned that he is accustomed to this role, having held it for around 4-5 years before. He expressed happiness about being back in the team and resuming his vice-captaincy duties.
Despite some criticism of his selection as vice-captain after just one good Test match, Rahane emphasized that nothing has fundamentally changed.
He credited his success to the freedom given to him by CSK in the IPL, where he played his natural game and scored runs. He stated that he will fulfill the role given to him by Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian Test team.
Rahane concluded by mentioning his belief in fulfilling the team’s expectations and playing his assigned role. In the IPL 2023, he scored 326 runs in 14 games with an average of 32.60 and an impressive strike rate of 172.49.
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