@Cricket Tadka

'I learned to retain my self-belief'

Last year he made his India debut at Old Trafford. Today Ajinkya Rahane is hoping to catch the selectors' attention once again. But setbacks don't worry him, they spur him on

         

        The dark navy blue Indian blazer hangs on a stand by the bed. We are in Ajinkya Rahane's room at the team hotel in Chennai on the day the Indian Test squad leaves for Australia, last December. Rahane, who had made his international debut only a few months ago in England, is happy that things are falling into place for him. He admits the prospect of playing in Australia - the pinnacle for every international cricketer - will keep him awake on the long flight to Melbourne.

 The previous afternoon Rahane had been beaten by the low bounce and the skiddy pace of Kemar Roach at Chepauk off the second ball of the fifth ODI against West Indies. It was the second duck of his short career, but being in the Indian dressing room had taught Rahane to remain positive.

  One of the most prolific batsmen on the domestic circuit, Rahane  Players tournament in Australia, where he had hit two centuries in the three first-class matches. It was mid-August when, one afternoon, while at home chatting with his mother, Rahane received a call from the office of the BCCI president. He was told he was flying to England as a replacement for Virender Sehwag, who was unfit.

The reality of it hit home only when people started phoning him. "I saw tears of happiness on my mom's face," Rahane recalls.

"I said, fine, I did not  opportunities on the Australian tour but I got to learn quite a few things. I learned to have a fighting attitude and retain my self-belief." Virtues that are important for a player with an Indian blazer in his wardrobe.