Always looking to improve his game, Ajinkya Rahane takes MS Dhoni's comment in stride

Chennai: With an average of 47, Ajinkya Rahane is arguably India’s Mr. Consistent in Tests abroad in the last one year alongside opener M. Vijay.

It was skipper MS Dhoni who backed him after the Mumbai batsman’s flop show on debut in 2013. Rahane never let his leader down as he came up with commendable performances in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia.

Two years later, Rahane is part of an Indian Test team that doesn’t have Dhoni and what’s more he is fresh after leading the ODI team to Zimbabwe as the stand-in skipper.

With India set to play their first full Test series under new skipper Virat Kohli, Rahane said: “We miss Dhoni in the team. He taught us how to accept challenges in Test cricket and how to deliver in different situations.”

The selectors “surprised” Rahane by anointing him as captain for the series against Zimbabwe even though Dhoni had axed him after one poor outing against Bangladesh in the first ODI stating,

“On quick pitches Rahane is all right, but on slower pitches he struggles to rotate the strike, especially early in his innings.”

Rahane said he took Dhoni’s comments in the right spirit. “We had a chat. He told me whatever he felt. I always look to improve my game day by day. After taking note of his feedback, I look to move forward to the Lanka series,” he said.

Having smashed all his three Tests hundreds outside the subcontinent, Rahane said it is important to tune his mind to the conditions in Sri Lanka.

“Wickets in Lanka would be slightly slower. Wherever I play, I am always hungry for runs. I want to do well all over the world. I don’t want to put undue pressure on myself. It’s about trying to get used to the conditions as early as possible. Sri Lanka are a strong side in their own backyard. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but we are looking to dominate,” the 27-year-old added.

After stating that he focussed a lot on his back foot play before all the away tours, Rahane said he was lucky enough to play alongside Rajasthan Royals’ mentor Rahul Dravid.

“I had a fruitful chat with him during the IPL. He told me to keep my game simple and not to copy any other player. He didn’t focus on any technique. It’s about preparing in right earnest without expecting the results,” he added.