Ajinkya Rahane says he wanted to talk “one-on-one” after being dropped from the Test team, but Agarkar was “not ready.”
Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane says he still wants to represent the national side after the Agarkar-led selection committee of the BCCI dropped him from the Test team. Rahane last played for India in an away Test match against West Indies in July 2023.
The 36-year-old batter recalled how chief selector Ajit Agarkar dropped him ahead of the 2023-2025 WTC cycle despite his brilliant anchoring innings against the Aussies in the World Test Championship final in June 2023. The batter expressed his disappointment as he didn’t receive any further clarification on being dropped from the team.
“When I was dropped a few years ago, I made runs and was picked for the World Test Championship final and then was dropped again. But what is in my control? To play. I did well in domestic cricket and in the IPL and was called again. Whenever an experienced player makes a comeback, one knows that he will get 2-3 series. I knew that South Africa was a challenging series and I was expecting a call, but I wasn’t picked. I felt bad because I have been serving for so long”, he said (via Indian Express).
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After a promising show in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings, Rahane was selected as the vice-captain of the Indian Test team for their tour of West Indies. However, the new selection committee headed by Agarkar decided to focus on a new bunch of talents.
The batter said that he wanted to communicate with the selection committee about his unexpected exclusion from the team, but the selectors were “not ready”.
“I’m not the person who will go and ask why I’m being dropped. There was no communication. Many said ‘go and talk’ but one can only talk when the other person is ready to talk. If he is not ready, there is no point fighting. I wanted to talk one-on-one. I never messaged. I felt odd when I was dropped after the WTC final because I had worked hard for it. I thought I would be there for the next series. There is no point cribbing. I can only do what is in my hands. There is a belief that I will make a comeback”, said Rahane, who is currently leading Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy this season.
Ajinkya Rahane has shown consistency in his recent matches while leading Mumbai to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy this season. Till now he has scored 437 runs in 12 innings following his purple patch at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, where he scored 469 runs with a strike rate of 164.56.
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