“I thought I played well in the WTC final” - Ajinkya Rahane opens up on getting dropped from the Indian Test team

Indian middle-order promising batter Ajinkya Rahane has finally opened up on his axing from the Indian Test squad. It’s been close to 18 months since the Mubaikar last played the longest format of the game for the national team.

Rahane was the last part of the Indian Test squad on the West Indies tour. Prior to that, he was part of the WTC 2023 final, which India lost by 209 runs against Australia. Interestingly, Rahane was the leading run-scorer of the final for India with 135 runs.

Though he wasn’t part of the Test squad after the West Indies tour, he has been in brilliant form in domestic cricket for Mumbai. Most recently, he smacked a second-innings century against Haryana to lead Mumbai to the semi-finals.

“I am not thinking about the future at all. But I do know that I am batting well. I had a good performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. This Ranji Trophy season is going well too. I batted nicely in the World Test Championship final in 2023 too. After that, I got dropped. Being selected or not selected is another matter, and the job of the selectors. But I thought I played well in that WTC final.” Rahane told reporters after Mumbai’s win.

In the West Indies tour, Rahane could put up scores only 8 and 3 in two Tests. Surprisingly, Rahane was the leading run-scorer of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 season with 469 runs. Moreover, he has been averaging close to 40 in the ongoing Ranji season.

“In all this, I feel I have a lot of cricket left in me. That’s why I am playing domestic cricket consistently. I just have one goal right now, and that is to play cricket with a positive mindset, and whatever happens after that, happens. Domestic cricket has given me everything. I still have that jazba(passion) within me. Before any match, I still have that desire and hunger that I possessed earlier. I don’t know about the future, but I do know I am far from done. That’s why I have been giving my 100% in domestic cricket,” Rahane added.

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