Former Indian middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane, who recently announced his retirement from all forms of the game, has revealed that he was part of the Indian Test team as a 12th man for almost two years before getting his Test cap.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane asserted that there is nothing bad about being a 12th man or serving drinks to his teammates, adding that he took it positively, which helped his attitude and mindset.
“The first two years, when I entered the team for the first time in 2011. I had to wait 20 games for my Test debut, and I was there as a 12th man for two years. That was a challenging phase, but I learnt a lot from it. I had two choices: either to gain sympathy or try to improve myself. There is nothing bad about being a 12th man or serving water or helping your teammates. I took it positively. I would look at everything, and because of that, I could play for a long time. Observing helped my attitude and mindset. It would be easy to gain sympathy, but I never expected that,” Ajinkya Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
Rahane, who made his Test debut against Australia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi in 2013, also stated that he had developed a lot of patience throughout his career by travelling to and fro in public transport.
“It was there from before, but it also developed as I kept playing and gained experience. I will not say I had so much patience right from the start. When you travel in a local train in Mumbai, it is challenging. So somewhere, patience develops right from there. When I started domestic cricket and kept scoring consistently, I unknowingly thought that my name should come up for India. And even I thought the same. But after talking to some senior players and over time, I realised it will happen when it has to happen. You do whatever is in your control. If you want to play for long, patience is important,” he added.
