Mumbai: India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday said that he isn’t too bothered about the constant criticism for his slow batting in the longest format. The right-hander stated it’s all about contributing to the team in whatever way possible.
“I am happy that people are talking about me. I always believed that people talk about important people, so I am not too concerned about that. It’s all about contribution for the team,” Rahane was quoted as saying to ANI.
Despite his valuable effort in the longest format of the game, Rahane has often faced criticism and people always doubt his capabilities. The veteran batsman scored a magnificent 61 in the second Test at Lord’s to shut all the critics in the best way possible with the bat.
Rahane’s innings along with Cheteshwar Pujara, who made a 45, helped India fight back in the game after they had lost early wickets. “My innings was really satisfying in the second innings, I believe in my contributions and for me, I always think about the team. That knock of 61 in the Lord’s Test was really satisfying,” added the Mumbaikar.
“It was all about hanging in there, communication was all about thinking about small targets and building on from there. We always talk about Pujara playing slow, but his innings was really important, he batted for 200 balls. We backed each other, I thought communication was really good. We knew 170-180 could have been a very good score on that wicket,” Rahane added.
It's Stumps on Day 4⃣ of the 2nd #ENGvIND Test at Lord's!#TeamIndia move to 181/6 & lead England by 154 runs.
6⃣1⃣ for @ajinkyarahane88
4⃣5⃣ for @cheteshwar1 @RishabhPant17 (14*) & @ImIshant (4*) will resume the proceedings on Day 5.Scorecard 👉 https://t.co/KGM2YELLde pic.twitter.com/ulY0tJclSl
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 15, 2021
Asked again if criticism motivates him, he said, “Everything motivates me. Playing for the country motivates me a lot. I am not bothered about criticism. He also added that the ultimate goal of playing is winning games and team performance. You think about your plans and methods, but ultimately it is all for the team. We just focus on that.”
Talking about the third Test at Headingley, Rahane stated that the team is all set to give their best regardless of the conditions on offer. “We are not thinking too much about the conditions and whatever Headingley has to offer. We just want to give our best, all players are in a good headspace and it is about putting our best foot forward,” he concluded.
