‘Never ever felt insecure doing 12th man’s duties’

It's not easy if you have been an India Test captain in March and performing the duties of a 12th man in June but Ajinkya Rahane is a team man to the core, who believes that moment one wears the India jersey, one needs to keep all his insecurities and ego issues at bay.

Rahane was the captain during India's series winning Test against Australia at Dharamsala. However in Champions Trophy, he did not get to play a single match and had to perform the duties of a 12th man. But in the West Indies series that followed, he emerged as the top run-getter with Man of the Series award.

"If I am the vice-captain of the Test team, it does not mean that I will not be performing my duties as a 12th man in ODIs. The moment you are representing your country, you are suppose to do whatever you are assigned. When I was carrying drinks during the Champions Trophy, I had no ego issues. That's how I am as a person," Rahane told PTI during an exclusive interview today.

The elegant right-hander made a successful comeback into the ODI playing XI with 336 runs from five ODIs at an average of 67.20 including a hundred and three half-centuries.

"West Indies was a special series for me simply for the consistency that I was able to show. This series is an important one for my ODI career and getting runs in almost all the matches was a really satisfying feeling. I got opportunity to show a different side to my batting and express myself differently," said Rahane.

For Rahane, more than technical, there were mental