At the beginning of the recently culminated season, there were genuine question marks over the future of Ajinkya Rahane in the Indian Test side. He had struggled badly with technical issues for the last couple of years, including the tours to England and Australia where he only occasionally showed off his class; the 31-year-old went through the most difficult phase of his career so far.
However, things changed earlier in 2019 when he came out of the series in West Indies as India's highest run-getter with a century in Antigua before following that up with a vintage Rahane ton in the third Test at home against South Africa in Ranchi and also batted really well when Bangladesh arrived.
Read Also: “Delhi Capitals wanted me to play for them”, reveals Ajinkya Rahane
With the next Test assignment - a two-match series in New Zealand in February - still some time away, Rahane is currently playing for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, training as hard as ever, hoping to keep himself in good shape and mental space before facing the Kiwis.
"That is how I am," Rahane told Hindustan Times. "Not only Ranji Trophy, even in age-group cricket, my attitude was like that. Talent is separate, but my work ethic and attitude has brought me success and I never want to lose it. When I wasn't scoring as many runs for two years, it was my attitude which helped me stay in a positive frame of mind."
"My close friends supported me but in my room, I used to be alone. In those times your thinking matters a lot as your thoughts start reflecting your actions. Whatever I have got is because of the game, so whenever I go on to the field, at whatever level, I give my 100 per cent. If you take this game lightly, it will immediately pull you down."
Rahane being a successful vice-captain of the side, it wasn't imagined that he'll be dropped for the first two Tests in South Africa. But even then, in the third Test in Johannesburg, he played a really crucial knock in the second innings to help set-up a memorable Indian win.
"For me to go through that moment was also very difficult," he said. "I took about 10-15 minutes to gather myself. After that, I thought, ‘no, it’s about the team’. If the team management feels the combination is good, it is. Cricket is a team sport. It is what I have learnt from my coaches. When you are dropped, you feel bad till a certain time but you have to look at the bigger picture."
"Whether the combination clicks in that match or not, I must respect the decision of the team management, and I respected it. But somewhere I felt disappointed, especially given my overseas record. In the end, what the team wants is what matters and I have always respected that."
"My family members and close friends only said positive things because of which my self-belief grew. I knew I had got runs at every level. When things are not going your way, no one can do anything; when time changes, everything starts clicking. I went over my game and decided that to dominate in international cricket I had to work harder and get better in certain aspects."
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
