Ajinkya Rahane will be playing for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL 2020 edition to be played from September 19 in UAE. The former Rajasthan Royals’ captain was traded to Capitals ahead of the auction last year.
Though he has spent his entire IPL career up till now, in teh top order, Rahane has said that he is not averse to playing the finisher’s role for DC, given that they have two amazing openers in Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan. Then the franchise has the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shimron Hetmyer, and Rishabh Pant coming in.
Asked about his role in the team, Rahane said: “I don’t know. We have to wait and watch as we start our practice sessions, then only we will have that communication. I have opened throughout my career and I have enjoyed that. But (it is) completely up to the team management as to what role they want to give me in the team. I will 100 percent do that.”
When asked about performing the finisher’s role in T20 cricket, the Indian Test vice-captain said that he is open to the idea.
IPL 2020: IPL 13 will be a very different experience for all, says Delhi Capitals' Ajinkya Rahane
“If I am told to bat at No 5 or 6, I will definitely take it as it will be a new role for me and help me explore my game. So if you ask me, my answer is yes, I am ready,” said Rahane, who is 12 runs short of career 5000 runs in T20 cricket.
Rahane said five to six sessions along with proper communication from the team management about the assigned role should be enough. “Frankly speaking, when you have two fielders outside the circle, you have the freedom to express yourself. Also, the field is completely spread in T20 cricket (after the first six overs). Till no.3, you can play with freedom…You get 15 to 20 runs and you are on,” he said.
Rahane still aims to make a comeback in Indian limited-overs setup, especially ODIs. However, he still is not over the pain of missing out on last year’s World Cup.
“I was actually thinking I would be there at the World Cup as no.4. That’s gone now and the goal is to make a comeback into the ODI team and do well in white-ball cricket. People talk about strike rates and averages. Before getting dropped, my record in 50-over cricket was good. I believe in having faith in myself rather than what people are saying. I am sure I will be back,” he asserted.
He also spoke about playing under coach Ricky Ponting for the first time and hopes tips from the Aussie legend will help him get better at his game.
“For any player, growth is important. Playing under Ricky Ponting (is something) I am excited about. As a player, you want to grow and learn. This is the best opportunity to take my game one step forward. Because of this COVID-19, you can’t spend too much time together but we can call him and discuss cricket,” he said.
Rahane was also asked about his opinion on the differences between Ponting and R Ashwin with respect to the Mankad dismissal.
“Ashwin can answer that better and Ricky has already answered that question. The news is all over. Let’s keep it that way. We are playing for the same team now, so it is important that we stick by each other and back each other,” added Rahane.
(PTI inputs)
