'Is age mein matlab? Main abhi bhi young hoon yaar' - Ajinkya Rahane's witty response on being asked about India comeback

The past few months have been a rollercoaster for Ajinkya Rahane, as after a tremendous outing with the IPL 2023 champions Chennai Super Kings, he earned his place back into India’s red-ball squad for the World Test Championship 2023 Final against Australia. Though India could not win the title, Rahane showcased fine performances with the bat and made a mark.

The 35-year-old was then named the vice-captain of India’s red-ball team when the selection committee named the squads for the forthcoming tour of West Indies, which is set to begin on July 12. After being dropped from the national side, Rahane’s comeback was magical as he exuded confidence with the bat and emerged as one of the finest batters for India in the WTC 2023 Final.

Ahead of the first Test between West Indies and India in Dominica, Rahane attended a press conference where he was asked about his comeback at the age of 35. Rahane was a bit disappointed with the question popping up, but he had a witty response to the reporter as he said:

“Is age mein matlab? Main abhi bhi young hoon yaar (At this age means? I am still young). There is still a lot of cricket left in me. Definitely, the IPL season was pretty good and I had a very good domestic season as well.”

BCCI, on Tuesday, shared a video of the same where skipper Rohit Sharma was seen bursting into laughter after Rahane's answer. 

“Batting wise, I am feeling quite confident. In the last year and a half, I have worked quite a bit on my fitness. I have worked on some areas of my batting as well. I am enjoying my cricket and my batting at the moment. I don’t want to think far ahead. As of now, every match is important - personally and from the team point of view as well. I am focusing on that,” Rahane added.

Happy to be back as the vice-captain: Rahane

Rahane will be Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the two-match Test series that India play against West Indies. It won’t be a difficult task for Rahane as he has even led the Indian side to a historic victory against Australia Down Under when Virat Kohli had to leave the team owing to family commitments. Speaking of taking the role again, Rahane said:

“I am used to this role. I was the vice-captain for almost 4-5 years, but I am really happy to be back in the team and really happy to be back as the vice-captain.”