As India begins their new WTC cycle with the two-match Test series against the West Indies commencing July 12 in Roseau, Ajinkya Rahane, who turned 35 last month, claims he still has “a lot of cricket left” in him. However, he is firmly focused on living in the now rather than looking too far into the future.
Despite only rejoining the squad last month after more than a year away, Rahane has been elected vice captain of the Test team. Call it a stroke of luck. He was India’s best batter in the match against Australia, which happened to be the WTC championship, posting scores of 89 and 46.
“I’m still young, and I still have a lot of cricket in me.” After rain delayed India’s training session at Windsor Park for the second day in a row, Rahane remarked, “I’ve worked a lot on my fitness over the last year or so. I focused on a few areas of my batting, you know. I’m really enjoying my batting and my game of cricket. I’m not planning forward too much right now. Both from a personal and a team perspective, every game is significant. On just that, I’m concentrating.
Rahane has concentrated on enjoying the game without having any expectations since being cut from the Test team in February 2022. In the domestic season of 2022–23, he led Mumbai in all three forms, guiding them to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy while also turning in some impressive batting displays.
He amassed 884 runs in 16 innings, three hundreds, and a half-century at an average of 58.93 during the entire first-class cricket season from September 2022 to February of this year. The results, while excellent but not outstanding, showed that he had continued to be a candidate should a position become available.
In the end, India required experience to win the WTC final without Shreyas Iyer. When Rahane got the call, he was already batting in the IPL, contrary to expectations, transitioning from an anchor to a full-fledged boundary batter.
Rahane wasn’t initially part of the Chennai Super Kings’ plans, so the turnaround was impressive. He hadn’t scored a fifty in the IPL since the 2020 season, and it appeared as though his career had come to an end. Similar to the Indian team, the Super Kings were given a slot because Ben Stokes was injured and Moeen Ali was ill. In his second game, against the Mumbai Indians, he proved the support was justified by smashing a match-winning 61 off just 27 balls.
When asked about this most recent development in his career, Rahane replied that “nothing has changed.” “CSK assigned me a role, and you work to fill it. Prior to that, I played the part of an anchor as appropriate. You have freedom; exercise it accordingly, CSK advised me. I always seek out runs; in fact, I’m a stroke-maker. The only thing that has changed is the role. I’ve always sworn that I’ll play the part that the team assigns me. I’m concentrating on it.
Despite the fact that Rahane and Rohit Sharma go back a long distance, having grown up playing together for Mumbai through the age-group circuit and then the first-class format, Rahane’s first game under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy for India was the WTC final last month.
“I will play the part that Rohit assigns me. Rahane praised the experience of playing for Rohit. He empowers the players before supporting them. They indicate a good captain. I’m in a nice mood. We both have a fantastic equation. As vice captain, I’m accustomed to this position. I worked there for almost five years, but I’m glad to be back with the group. I’m overjoyed to be serving again as vice captain.
Rahane was especially proud of another Mumbai native, 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, whom he led in domestic cricket between the years 2022–2033. Jaiswal turned heads with his demeanor and stroke play. Jaiswal has played in 26 innings of first-class cricket overall, averaging 80.21, and in his most recent match, the Irani Cup in March, he scored 213 and 144 runs.
Jaiswal has now been promoted to the main squad after competing in the WTC final as a reserve. He will likely be given a cap to wear at the top or at the first drop in place of Cheteshwar Pujara.
“I’m so pleased for him. Rahane described him as an exciting talent. He performed admirably in the IPL and for Mumbai. His batting technique in red-ball cricket is crucial. His record is strong, and last year he performed admirably for Mumbai and in the Duleep Trophy. My advice will be to simply bat as he is now doing and not to give [the international cricket stage] too much thought. Going in the middle and using your freedom of movement are key.
Rahane did not consider it to be a problem that India was fielding a pace attack with only 88 Test wickets between them. With 52 Test wickets to his credit, Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s attack in the West Indies, but Jaydev Unadkat, who returned to the format against Bangladesh last December after a 12-year absence, has been the country’s most reliable red-ball bowler over the past four seasons in domestic cricket.
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