Newest addition to Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) arsenal, Ajinkya Rahane, on Thursday, said that though he prefers opening the innings, he is ready to bat anywhere for his team in the upcoming IPL 2023 which begins on March 31.
CSK will be in action on the opening day of the tournament, as they face off against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi stadium.
Ahead of the opener, Rahane was asked about his role in the CSK set-up, since the team has in place a set opening pair in Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“I have always been an opener. I have always opened the batting in the T20 format, so not much of a difference in my role. Still, whatever the management and captain asks me to do, I am always open to doing it. For me, it’s always about the team, so whenever I get an opportunity I will give my best,” Rahane told media persons.
Rahane gave an open-ended reply when asked if Ben Stokes has any chance of bowling, or if he will play only as a specialist batter, as reported by the British media.
“You will see that tomorrow how Mahi bhai uses him. It’s completely in Mahi bhai’s mind. He will use him well,” Rahane answered.
Rahane scored 634 runs in Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and feels he is in good batting form. He also talked about playing under MS Dhoni once again.
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“Personally, I am batting well, and had a good domestic season. It is all about having fun but looking to learn every time and nothing changes. So, whenever I get a chance, I would like to contribute my best.
The experience has been really good so far. We started our training session a long time back and are very happy to be part of the CSK family. Playing under Mahi bhai again… It’s a great opportunity for me to learn, played under him in the Indian team for many years, but in CSK, this is the first opportunity to play under him, really looking forward to it,” Rahane said.
Rahane feels that playing with 12 players keeps any team in the game till the last ball thanks to the new impact player rule.
He said: “In this rule, you are never out of the game and whether it’s a bowler, all-rounder, or batter, every team is in the game till the last ball. In domestic cricket, it was different as you had to choose your impact player by the 14th over, so here he can come anytime and deliver for the team, so basically you are playing with 12 players, and no team is out of the equation till the last ball.”
(PTI inputs)
