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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  I want Virat Kohli’s attitude: Ajinkya Rahane
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I want Virat Kohli’s attitude: Ajinkya Rahane

The Indian batsman on his great IPL season, getting consistency in his batting and M.S. Dhoni as a captain

Rahane says he has learnt a great deal about cricket under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni, who, he thinks, is the best captain in the world. Photo: Getty ImagesPremium
Rahane says he has learnt a great deal about cricket under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni, who, he thinks, is the best captain in the world. Photo: Getty Images

Ajinkya Rahane finished the just-concluded eighth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the second-highest scorer (540 runs), just 22 runs behind Australian David Warner. For the Indian player, who is part of the Rajasthan Royals squad in the tournament, scoring heavily has become something of a habit. However, it’s not just his terrific form in IPL but a vastly improved show in all formats of the game that the 26-year-old from Mumbai was adjudged CEAT Indian cricketer of the year earlier this week. Rahane spoke about a range of issues, from his batting to teammates and mental toughness. Edited excerpts:

It seems that you just carried on in the IPL from where you left off in the Australia tour earlier this year.

It’s been a very good IPL season for me. I learnt a great deal about batting. For the last 12 months, process and preparation were key words for me before every tour. I always believe that preparation is very important and if you prepare well, naturally results will come. Of course, I am happy with my process and preparation but I have a long way to go and bringing consistency in my game is my main intent.

Your team couldn’t make it to the finals despite playing well in the beginning of the tournament.

In T20, you can’t control everything. We won five games in a row in the beginning and despite losing momentum after that, we came back strongly and made it to the play-offs. We were disappointed not to play in the finals but are proud of the way we played as a unit. On a personal front, it was nice to get some runs, I was feeling very confident with the way I was batting but not reaching the finals was very disappointing.

When you play Ranji trophy for Mumbai, you have Sachin Tendulkar for advice. When you play for the Rajasthan Royals, you get to interact a lot with Rahul Dravid. It must be a great education for you?

Of course. I benefited immensely from these two legends. Sachin and Rahul bhai have scored runs all over the world in all conditions and when I talk to them, I get to learn so many things. In IPL, Rahul shared his experiences and I learnt a lot. Both Sachin and Rahul are my role models and the way they have batted in the IPL and in T20 cricket, it’s an education for everybody. They just backed their natural game and they used to time the ball really well. My plan is also to time the ball nicely rather than try to hit it really hard.

The current Indian team has got you, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. All of you are combative players. Is there a sense of competition among you?

All of us have got respect for each other’s abilities. Challenging each other positively is a good thing. Most of us also have seen the importance of a shared dream and common goal in Sachin, Rahul, (VVS) Laxman and Dada (Sourav Ganguly). The way they used to prepare, the way they helped each other taught us many things. This generation also enjoys each other’s successes, tries to help each other and more importantly, enjoys each other’s company as well. For me, it’s important to help my teammate and share the success.

You must be delighted with Rohit Sharma’s IPL triumphs?

Needless to say. We have played a lot of cricket together. I am very happy for his success and especially the way his team came back tremendously in the last fortnight. It was an extraordinary turnaround in IPL. The consistency which they displayed in the last 10 matches was staggering, especially in a format like T20.

Even in a loud, hyped tournament like IPL, you are always the quiet man, keeping to yourself. Is that a deliberate strategy?

No, no, I have always been like that since my childhood. My natural urge is to be calm and give utmost respect to the game. I have a fair idea that what I need to do to excel as a cricketer, what are the important things to keep in mind. Being quiet helps me in focusing. Whatever I am today, it’s because of cricket and respecting this game is very important for me and I will always continue to do that.

Was it frustrating to not get enough opportunities when you were starting out on an international career around 2011-12?

Cricket is my passion and I always give my hundred percent. I always respected the team management’s decision and honestly I never got frustrated during that time. In fact, I got doubly motivated to do work harder. My positivity helped me to face those tough times but I learnt a lot about my own game from the sidelines.

If I ask you to pick one batsman each from India and abroad to learn from, who would they be?

Past players or contemporary?

Contemporary.

I think the kind of attitude Virat Kohli has when he enters the ground, is something I want to have. He always wants to win the game for his team. Outside India, I think Steven Smith (Australia captain) is really a special player. His consistency is admirable and I think one can learn a lot from these two contemporary batsmen.

You have played under M.S. Dhoni and now also under Kohli. What is the difference between these two captains?

Under Dhoni’s leadership I learnt a great deal about this game. He gave me confidence and I think he is the best captain in the world. He backs his players to the hilt. Virat is very aggressive player but in many ways he is like Dhoni. He also supports his teammates and always tries to boost their confidence and wants to win a lot of matches.

How do you see the performance of the Indian team over the last few months?

We are a pretty young team and believe we have done well as a unit in Test cricket. Touring South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia was a great education for the young team. We have been improving with each tour.

You scored a Test ton in New Zealand, England and then Australia. Are you still disappointed for missing a hundred on your first tour of South Africa? You came very close in Durban.

When you miss a Test hundred, you are always disappointed. But cricket is such a great leveller. It teaches you a lot of things. When I missed the hundred by just four runs, I realized the importance of a Test ton and those four runs in Test cricket. That experience helped me in Wellington when I got my first hundred.

Do you think the next series against Bangladesh is not as challenging as the previous season? India will have tougher opponents like Sri Lanka and South Africa later on.

Each season brings different sets of challenges and no tour is easy. I want to stay in the present as much as much as I can. I don’t think too far ahead. Right now, my focus is to prepare well for the Bangla tour and do well since they had a very good home series against Pakistan recently and also they played well in the World cup. It will be a long season and starting well in Bangladesh will be our main focus.

Vimal Kumar is the author of Sachin: Cricketer of the Century.

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Published: 30 May 2015, 12:27 AM IST
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