When the selectors take a decision, we respect it: Ajinkya Rahane

Indian middle order batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has been axed from the T20I squad for the series against Australia, said that he respects the selectors decision. The 29-year old scored four consecutive fifties against Australia in the ODI series after failing to get off to a good start in the first game in Chennai. Rahane didn’t play in the one-off T20I match against Sri Lanka during India’s away tour to the island nation.

So far, the Maharashtra born batsman has played 84 ODIs and 20 T20I games, scoring 2822 and 375 runs respectively. Once tagged as a Test match specialist, Rahane has proved many wrong and has been fairly successful in the shorter format of the game.

“Yes, so much cricket we play, the team management, selectors take a decision and we respect it. Speaking about competition, it is necessary and it helps you to give your best performance. Whoever gets a chance does well for the team. I have always enjoyed the competition (among players),” Rahane told reporters here

In-form Rahane looks to convert good starts

Rahane was at his best against Australia recently. “Yes, I am happy. The responsibility and the opportunity I was given, the way I was supposed to bat, I did. Definitely, I am happy with the form I have carried from the West Indies tour, I have made four consecutive fifties,” he explained.

“I could have converted the fifties into hundreds. It was in my mind to contribute, I shared three 100-run stands with Rohit (Sharma) and our aim was to give a good start to the team,” he added. “In the future series if I get a chance I will convert the 50s into 100s,” Rahane said, hinting at the upcoming games.

On India’s impressive performance, he said “It is a proud moment for all of us. Our aim is 2019 World Cup and we are going in that direction. For that we have to play series by series and match by match, the aim of this team is to win every match and series, and we always try to improve.

“All have performed. In the middle-order Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, whenever they got opportunity, they have performed. Rohit and Virat (Kohli) have always performed well. Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvednra) Chahal got a chance and they did well. Our bench strength is good.

“The fact that all of us get a chance and perform is a good sign. If you have to win the 2019 World Cup, then you have to test your bench strength,” Rahane concluded.