Ajinkya Rahane revels in batting out of his usual position

Rahane is calm and congruent with his methods

Ajinkya Rahane said that he has no problem with batting anywhere in the lineup stating that he likes to tackle it as a challenge, reports BCCI.TV. He also spoke about the importance of fielding in modern day cricket and the upcoming series against South Africa.

While the spotlight shines constantly on team-mate Virat Kohli, Rahane is quietly establishing himself as the most reliable batsman in the Indian Test team. Despite being asked to bat at No 3 during the tour to Sri Lanka, Rahane showed resilience and scored a vital second innings ton to ensure that India came back strongly in the 2nd Test match at the P Sara Oval.

“The management and the captain decide the batting order according to what they think is the best for the team. As a member of the team, you have to not only accept their decisions but also make your gameplan accordingly,” Rahane said.

With hundreds in New Zealand, England, Australia and Sri Lanka, he is gradually etching his name into cricket history as a batsman for all conditions. Almost all of these tons have come in his favourite spot at number 5, wherein he could shepherd the lower middle order in any type of situation. Despite this fact, the Indian thinktank comprising of team director Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli, have often gone on record maintaining that the batting order is subject to frequent changes which will depend on the match situation.

Despite the experimental mood of the team management, Rahane considers it as an chance to underline his significance rather than a situation being forced upon him.

“It is obviously a challenge to adapt when your position in the batting order changes. But I like to get out of my comfort zone. My strength lies in taking up the challenge thrown at me and coming good at it. I take these things positively and see them as an opportunity to achieve something out of my comfort zone,” he stated.

Currently sweating it hard at the preparatory camp in Bangalore, the Indian team is faced with the challenge of switching rapidly across different formats against the visiting South African team. With the Gandhi-Mandela trophy starting with the PayTM T20 series, Rahane revealed that he has laid emphasis on enhancing his batting skills which have remained below par in the shorter formats of the game.

Rahane who achieved the world record of latching onto the most number of catches in a Test match, a feat which he achieved against Sri Lanka in the 1st Test at Galle, is largely touted as the hope to fill the vaccum in the slips which was created by the retirements of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. He acknowledged the importance of fielding in modern day cricket and stated that the whole team is working hard on this aspect of the game.

“The importance of fielding in modern cricket has risen to a great extent,” he said. “You can win matches with your fielding and catching. All of us have been working really hard with your fielding coach, R Sridhar, because we know that saving 15-odd runs, taking a couple of good catches and affecting a run-out can win you a match.”

After enduring a testing away season which culminated with a Test series win in Sri Lanka, Team India will look to sustain their proud record in home conditions. Rahane mentioned that the key lies in re-inventing their strategies to suit Indian conditions in which majority of the South African players have developed a familiarity by playing in the IPL.

Needless to say, he will be indispensible to the Indian batting lineup as they look to quell experienced speedsters such as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.