Ajinkya Rahane confident of playing in World Cup 2019

He might have fallen behind in the race for a berth in India’s ODI team but Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has not given up the hope on making a comeback to play the ICC World Cup in England next year. Rahane has not played an ODI since February this year while the last time he hit a ton in the 50-overs format was against Windies in June 2017.

The Mumbaikar had a successful outing in the final of the Deodhar Trophy recently when he led from the front to hit 144 not out for India ‘A’ against India ‘C’ to help his side lift the title. The 30-year-old was questioned for his slow batting in the league stage of the tournament but came out strongly in the final. Rahane also failed to produce anything special in the five-Test series in England in July-September.

Playing domestic cricket helped Rahane

Speaking at the Ekamra Sports Literary Festival in Bhubaneswar, Rahane said he is confident of playing the World Cup next year. “I am confident of making a comeback and I am confident of playing the World Cup. That is why I played domestic cricket because it helped me and I am sure I will bounce back,” Rahane was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

In 90 ODIs played since 2011, the Mumbai batsman has scored 2,962 runs at an average of 35.26 and strike rate of 78.63. He has three centuries and 24 half-centuries in this format.

Rahane has been named in the 18-member squad which will play in the four-Test series in Australia in December-January. He has not been picked for the T20I series preceding the Tests and it will be interesting to see whether he gets a call for the three-ODI series after the Tests get over.

The Indian middle-order has seen a congestion in recent times with the likes of Ambati Rayudu making a comeback into the Indian team which makes Rahane’s task all the more challenging. However, given the fact that the next World Cup will be played in England could make an opening for the technically sound batsman.

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