India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday (August 23) brushed aside the criticism he and Cheteshwar Pujara faced for their slow-paced knock during the second Test against England, saying they have played long enough to know what suits the team's interest.

Rahane also joked that they received flak on social media only because “important people” are talked about there.

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Batting in India’s second innings at Lord’s, Rahane (61 off 146 balls) and Pujara (45 off 206) added 100 runs for the fourth wicket but they took nearly 50 overs to do it.

"I am happy that people are talking about me. I have always believed that people talk about important people, so I am not too concerned about that. It's all about contribution for the team," Rahane said in a virtual press conference ahead of the third Test, starting on Wednesday (August 25).

Asked again if criticism motivates him, he added: "Everything motivates me. playing for the country motivates me. I am not bothered about criticism."

The slow innings, however, didn’t hurt India as the visitors went on to win the Lord’s Test by 151 runs on the final day.

Rahane weighed in on his knock and said that he was pleased with it.

"I always believed in contribution and that contribution was satisfying. You think about your own game but team performance is ultimate. You think about your methods, your good innings and what suits you but ultimately whatever team needs we focus on that."

Sharing the discussion he has had with Pujara in the middle, Rahane said it was all about building the innings.

"The communication was all about short targets and build it on from there. Cheteshwar, we always talk that he plays slow but that innings was really important for us. He batted for 200 balls. We back each other.

"Cheteshwar and I have been playing since long, we know how to handle pressure, how to handle certain situations. Whatever we can't control, we are not thinking about that," he said.

None of the current Indian players have the experience of playing a Test match at Headingley – the venue for the third Test. However, Rahane is not worried about it.

"When you are playing in the UK, your line and lengths are very important and that's a challenge as a bowling unit. In 2014 when we came here, we were a young unit, the guys were still learning. Now we are experienced.

"All the bowlers have played all over the world, they know how to bowl in certain situation. We focussed on bowling in right areas."

According to him, it's about finding your rhythm as a batsman and bowler in England.

"It's not challenging really. When you get the rhythm, it's about maintaining it and just being confident about yourself. I don't see any difficulty playing at Headingley.

"It's all in the mind, mentally we are strong. All the players are in good space."

Providing an update on the team, Rahane said Shardul Thakur is ready for selection after missing the Lord’s Test due to a hamstring injury.

"He is ready for selection. We just have to see what combination we are going with. About rotation, we got very good break after the last Test so all the fast bowlers are ready to play, which is a very good sign," he concluded.

(With PTI inputs)