Ajinkya Rahane has no qualms about not being selected in T20I team

Losing Shikhar Dhawan ahead of an important series against Australia could have been seen as a setback, especially given the opener’s phenomenal return to form since this year’s Indian Premier League. But his departure paved the way for Ajinkya Rahane to step up to fill his boots, and every time the Mumbai batsman has been assigned the task, he’s done a pretty good job as his last 10 ODI innings read 61, 53, 70, 55, 5, 62, 103, 72, 60, 39. But despite that, he now finds himself out of the T20I team but that doesn’t bother Rahane.

"Yes, so much cricket we play, the team management, selectors take a decision and we respect it. Speaking about the competition, it is necessary and it helps you to give your best performance. Whoever gets a chance does well for the team. I have always enjoyed the competition (among players)," Rahane was quoted as saying by PTI.

"Yes, I am happy. The responsibility and the opportunity I was given, the way I was supposed to bat, I did. Definitely, I am happy with the form I have carried from the West Indies tour, I have made four consecutive fifties." 

Although he got starts in almost every match, he failed to capitalize on them and managed to score a century only once in 10 innings. But with India having proven themselves as the superior side on most occasions - successfully defending and chasing big totals - Rahane’s contribution at the top makes for a good base for the team. However, the Mumbaikar wants to convert the 50s to 100s, just the way the opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner did in the third and fourth ODIs.

"I could have converted the fifties into hundreds. It was in my mind to contribute, I shared three 100-run stands with Rohit (Sharma) and our aim was to give a good start to the team," he added.

"In the future series if I get a chance I will convert the 50s into 100s."

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