Ajinkya Rahane slams management, selectors for lack of communication: ‘Indian team needed me in Australia’

Veteran middle-order batter Ajinkya Rahane slammed the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee as well as the current team management for the lack of communication regarding his future in the Indian team. Rahane also felt that he could have been a valuable addition to the Indian squad for the Test series in Australia last winter, which the visitors ended up losing 3-1 that resulted in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy changing hands for the first time in nearly a decade.

‘I still enjoy my game’

The 37-year-old had last represented the Indian team in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval, and was dropped from the side along with fellow senior batter Cheteshwar Pujara after the Rohit Sharma-led side lost the marquee clash by 209 runs.

And while Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket in August, Rahane remains hopeful of making one last appearance for the national team down the road despite the intense competition for spots.

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“Something clicked for me,” Rahane told Sportstar after scoring 159 in Mumbai’s home fixture against Chattisgarh in the second round of the Ranji Trophy Elite season.

“I know how good a player I am, so I don’t like to focus on what’s going on outside. There are many unwanted people who don’t know about the game, but they still talk about a player who has been playing consistently with a good attitude and good intensity.

“But I still enjoy my game. I can focus on the controllable, which I’m doing right now. Whether they select me or not, that’s their call, but I personally feel that the Indian team needed me in Australia, and I was fully ready for it…” added Rahane, who had masterminded India’s epic triumph in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and had also led Mumbai to their 42nd Ranji title last year.

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Age shouldn’t be a factor, insists Rahane

The Indian Test team has undergone a major transformation over the past one year, with senior pros such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin making their final appearance in whites in the tour of Australia. While Ashwin had announced his international retirement midway during the tour, Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from the format in May, and currently are active only in One-Day Internationals.

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Under the influence of head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Agarkar, the Indian team has been focusing on building a young squad, especially in the Test and T20I formats with Shubman Gill have already established himself as the leader in the former, and recently made his debut as ODI captain in the ODI series in Australia.

Rahane, however, reiterated that “age is just a number”, and that a senior player should not be sidelined simply for his age is he/she was still contributing in domestic cricket.

“Age is just a number. If a player has the experience and is still playing domestic cricket and giving his best, the selectors should consider him. It’s not about the age. It’s about the intent. It’s about the passion for red-ball cricket and the hard work that you put in the middle. That’s what matters,” he added.