Ajinkya Rahane, who made his debut in Test cricket in 2011 and is considered as one of the most technically sound batsmen, recently talked about his own share of struggles as he did not belong to a well-to-do family.
The right-hander still remembers how he and his mother used to walk 6 kilometers to get to cricket training because they could not afford the rickshaw fare.
“My cricketing journey started in Dombivli. I still remember my mother used to walk with me with my kit bag in one hand and my brother in her other arm and we used to walk 6-8kms one way. We could not afford rickshaw fare at that time,” Rahane said.
The 31-year-old then credited his parents for where he has reached today as he said, “I am here because of my parents. For them, I am still the same Ajinkya Rahane. My family has sacrificed a lot for me so it was my dream to do something for them.”
Rahane then talked about how he traveled by train from the age of 7, by saying, “I had seen that during my train journies when I was 7. My father came with me on my first day from Dombivli to CST and dropped me and went to work. The second day he told me that now on I had to travel alone.”
“So my father dropped me to Dombivli station and I took the train but later I got to know that my father was on the other compartment behind me. He followed me to CST to see if I could travel alone or not. Once he was assured that I was safe then he let me travel alone,” he added.
(With India Today inputs)
