Dropped from ODIs, Rahane confident to do well in England
mumbai — Ajinkya Rahane is an eternal optimist, who is ready to find a silver lining in everything, including his rejection from India’s limited overs team.
He believes that being overlooked for the limited overs leg of the UK tour will give him more time to do his homework for the bigticket five-match Test series against England, starting August 1.
“It is important that you get time to prepare yourself and clarity is important, when you know that you are not in ODI squad and you just going to play Test matches in England. I will get good amount of time for the Afghanistan Test and after that for the England tour,” Rahane told reporters on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Awards.
Even if there is an element of frustration, Rahane doesn’t want to show that.
“No, I am not at all frustrated; actually the thing is I can tell you this is actually motivating me, because I am actually looking to make a comeback. Right now, my focus is on Test cricket. I still believe that I can come back and do well in shorter formats with World Cup (2019) coming up.”
While there are enough indications that he has fallen off the radar as far as India’s limited overs scheme of things are concerned, Rahane is still hopeful that he can turn the table.
“I still believe in myself. I did well in ODI cricket whenever I got my opportunities. In West Indies, I got man-of-the-series award (with four half-centuries). Against Australia, I did really well. In South Africa, the team management asked me to bat at No. 4 and I did well, so it is just a matter of time. I am still confident that I will make a comeback and do well for my country in shorter format,” the right-hander put up a brave front. — PTI