After 2018, I Hardly Got Game Time - Ajinkya Rahane Reveals Lack Of Match Practice Proved To Be Tough

Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane revealed that he was performing well in ODIs and Tests before 2018 but was suddenly dropped from the 50-over format and was subsequently pushed out of the team.

He is now a specialist Test batter but his form in the longest format has also taken a hit. The 34-year-old will turn up for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy season to regain lost touch.

“Sometimes, the reality is, when you play only one format and especially in the last 2-3 years where there is no Ranji cricket and no other domestic games, I think that needs to be taken into account because you can’t score runs sitting at home.”

“No matter how much you practice or have net sessions, the confidence will not be gained with that. Confidence comes with game time and scoring runs in matches,” Rahane told on the show ‘Backstage with Boria’.

“Before that, I was playing ODI cricket continuously for Team India” – Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane is still unsure of the reasoning behind his exclusion in ODIs. A year before the ODI World Cup 2019, India was looking for players who could fill in the No.4 slot.

“Before that, I was playing ODI cricket continuously for Team India and I was doing really well.

“Suddenly, I got dropped, I don’t want to go into that, I don’t want to go into my past but the reality is I was playing well in 2014, 15, 16, and 17. ODI and Test cricket both were going really well. After that I hardly got game time, there was a huge gap between Test matches,” Rahane added.

Rahane has scored just 479 runs in the last 13 Tests at a poor average of 20.83.

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