It has been a breakthrough season for Ajinkya Rahane as 2013-14 has seen him cement his spot in India`s Test side but the talented Rajasthan Royals batsman wants to “keep his feet” grounded and says every day is a “learning experience” for him.
Rahane`s talent was never in question but he only started to blossom from last year`s IPL, which earned him a spot in India`s tough tours of South Africa and New Zealand where he was the only Indian batsman to succeed, apart from Virat Kohli. “I really learnt a lot from last year. My performance in last year`s IPL gave me immense confidence to take on world-class bowlers. Obviously those two tours (of South Africa and New Zealand) were important for my career and I am glad that I really did well,” Rahane told PTI in an interview.
“It is always a challenge to play on overseas tours because of different conditions and quality attacks. I am glad that I did well on those tours but I would like to keep my feet on the ground and keep learning day by day,” said the 25-year-old right-hander, who scored his maiden Test century in Wellington earlier this year.
Despite the abundance of talent though, Rahane hasn`t been able to cement his place in India`s limited overs set-up. He did come alive in the Asia Cup with two half-centuries but failed to fire in the closing stages of the ICC World T20 in Bangladesh. The soft-spoken batsman was more disappointed for the team than his own failures.
“I wasn`t thinking about myself, I was thinking about the team. I was really disappointed because we lost the World Cup. I was really batting well at that point but didn`t capitalise on those scores,” said Rahane about his three outings in T20 World Cup.
Opening the batting, Rahane has so far notched up two half-centuries out of seven games in the ongoing IPL and the Mumbai lad said he is relishing the role of a senior batsman in the Rajasthan Royals set-up. “I am not taking any pressure on myself. I am just enjoying this opportunity to learn as much as possible from all the senior players. I just want to enjoy this new responsibility,” he said.
