Hopeful of making white-ball return in Indian colours, admits Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane, who has been hailed for his red-ball cricket, admitted that he is hoping to make a white-ball return in Indian colours and claimed that his ODI record was good before he was axed. Rahane also stated that his batting position isn’t quite yet clear for the Delhi Capitals.
Having made all kinds of right noises with the red-ball, Ajinkya Rahane’s rise in Tests coincided with his downfall in the shorter formats. After his last ODI against South Africa at the Centurion, where he scored an unbeaten 34, the right-hander was frozen out of the Indian squad in the white-ball formats, paving the way for the likes of Ambati Rayudu and Shreyas Iyer in the middle.
In the 90 appearances that he made in the ODI format, the Mumbaikar scored 2962 runs, at an average of 35.26. Despite the management deeming it not enough to play for India, Rahane opined that his record in the white-ball was quite good.
“I am hopeful of making a comeback in white ball cricket. If you see my record before getting dropped in ODIs, it was really good actually. People talk about strike rate and averages. Before getting dropped from 50-over cricket, it was really good. I have faith in myself rather than what people are saying,” said Rahane, in a Zoom call from Dubai, reported Hindustan Times.
After his five-year-stint in the IPL with the Rajasthan Royals, Rahane switched bases ahead of the 2020 IPL, playing for the Delhi Capitals. In bizarre circumstances, Delhi have as many as four openers in the rank, including Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Jason Roy, Shimron Hetmyer. The addition of Rahane made it five, which looked confusing but the opener is confident of slotting in any role for his new franchise.
“We are still in quarantine, so I don’t know what role I am going to play. Once training starts and the communication within the group happen, we will be aware. I have enjoyed opening the batting but it’s up to the team management,” he added.
“If there is a situation where I have to bat at No. 5 and 6, I will do it. That way I can explore a new aspect about my game. Once the role is clear it will help. You need at least need five to six sessions to settle in depending on where in the batting order you are,” he concluded.
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