
The recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 turned out to be a sensational affair for Ajinkya Rahane who batted like a man possessed in the league and his performance, in part, helped him get his place back in the Indian Test side.
Rahane's first assignment in white, shall he makes it to the playing XI, after his exploits in IPL will be the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia in England from June 7.
The batsman, however, seems confident ahead of his possible comeback in what would be the biggest stage to perform. Speaking to BCCI.TV before the final at India's training session Rahane looked in good spirits and said he just wants to start afresh.
“Coming back after 18-19 months, whatever has happened, good or bad, I don’t want to think about my past. I just want to start afresh and keep doing whatever I have been doing,” said Rahane.
He also spoke on his performance in the IPL and India's domestic season prior to that and revealed that this has been an emotional comeback for him.
“Personally enjoyed playing for CSK as I have been batting well throughout the season, even before IPL. I had a very good domestic season and I felt good. So this comeback was a bit emotional for me,” said the India batter.
“It was (an) emotional moment for me. When I got dropped, the support I got from my family was massive and dream was to play for India and that was massive. Playing for India matters a lot for me and I worked hard on my fitness and went back to domestic cricket.
“I want to bat with the same mindset and show same intent that I showed before coming here in IPL and Ranji Trophy. I would not like to think about format whether it is T20 or Tests. The way I am batting now, I don’t want to complicate things and the more I keep it simple, better it is for me,” he further added.
Rahane would also be looking to achieve the 5K Test-run milestone as he currently stands 69 runs short at 4,931 runs in 82 Tests at an average of 38.52.
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