‘…that's what I told my family’: Ajinkya Rahane opens up on his ‘emotional’ comeback ahead of WTC finals

The upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) comes as a great opportunity for Ajinkya Rahane, who is making a return to the national side after an absence of 16 months. Rahane, who led India to a famous series win in Australia back in 2020-21, lost his vice-captaincy and was subsequently dropped from the side after a series of underwhelming performances. In fact his last Test appearance was back against South Africa in January 2022, which the Proteas had won by seven wickets.

However, Rahane didn't let the rough patch affect mentally in fact he toiled hard in the domestic circuit, before producing impressive performances in the IPL. Rahane's display has now helped him return to the Test side and in an interview with BCCI.Tv, the right-handed batter opened about his comeback in length.

“I'm really happy to be back with Indian team after maybe 18, 19 months. This is something really special for me. I want to keep continuing my batting form. I don't want to think too much about the format, I don't want to complicate things. The more I keep it simple. It will be better,” said Rahane before he described the omission from India's red-ball setup as an “emotional” moment.

Also Read | ‘He has a point to prove’: Gavaskar hopes big returns for discarded India star in WTC final, calls his role ‘crucial'

Rahane found his biggest motivators in his family and a group of close friends. The secret recipe, however, was Rahane's diligence to play for India, which helped him make a comeback to the side.

“It was an emotional moment for me. When I got dropped the support from my family was massive. The dream was still to play for India and that's what I told my family. I worked hard on the fitness, my game plan and everything. Went back to domestic cricket, had a very good domestic season for Mumbai. And when I got a call the moment was really emotional for me and for my family as they backed me a lot, they supported me a lot to go through that period, two years.

The Mumbai skipper had a good outing in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy, where he accumulated 634 runs from 11 innings at a healthy average of 57.63. While this was his show in red-ball, Rahane also stamped his authority in white-ball cricket.

"When I went back to domestic cricket, for me the dream was still to play for India and that kept me going every time every single day.

"Rather than thinking about regrets or going in a negative direction, I thought of enjoying every moment. Success and failure throughout that season, helping Mumbai to do well, and obviously learning from every individual. I thought that learning process really helped me a lot.

“You have to grow as a cricketer as a person every single day, no matter whether you do well or not, so, overall, I thought the contributions from everyone, my family members, my three for friends, that contribution was massive,” he added.

Going by Rahane's form also with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, or Rishabh Pant not available, the Mumbaikar appears to be a must pick in India's middle-order for the WTC finale. Apart from him, Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been England for the County Championship, and Virat Kohli will play a crucial role for India in the summit clash, which starts from June 7.