Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. After that, he revealed which phase of his career was challenging as well. However, Ajinkya Rahane made his international debut in 2011, but his Test debut came two years later in 2013. He also revealed that he was in the squad for two years, but he had to wait for a long time for his maiden Test appearance, being the 12th man.

“The first two years, when I entered the team for the first time in 2011. I had to wait 20 games for my Test debut, and I was there as a 12th man for two years. That was a challenging phase, but I learnt a lot from it. I had two choices: either to gain sympathy or try to improve myself. There is nothing bad about being a 12th man or serving water or helping your teammates. I took it positively. I would look at everything, and because of that, I could play for a long time. Observing helped my attitude and mindset. It would be easy to gain sympathy, but I never expected that,” he said on his Hindi YouTube channel.

“It was there from before, but it also developed as I kept playing and gained experience. I will not say I had so much patience right from the start. When you travel in a local train in Mumbai, it is challenging. So somewhere, patience develops right from there. When I started domestic cricket and kept scoring consistently, you unknowingly think that your name should come for India. And even I thought the same. But after talking to some senior players and over time, I realised it will happen when it has to happen. You do whatever is in your control. If you want to play for long, patience is important,” he further added.

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He also opened up on his decision to walk away, stating that he gave it a good thought before taking the call. He also added that having no regrets helped him in the process as well.

“It was very overwhelming. It has not sunk in yet. But I am very happy with the decision I made. I was thinking for almost a month before taking this decision. But in the end, I understood one thing, and that is why I could take the decision. There was no regret. Whatever I could have tried, whatever I wanted to achieve, or whatever my best I wanted to give, I probably did more than that. I have achieved what I wanted to. I am happy at the moment,” he shared again.

“When I started thinking about retirement, I did not feel I would get this emotional, as the final call had not been taken. I was discussing it with my family and was telling them what I thought. They fully supported me, having seen my entire journey. They knew I never took shortcuts and always worked hard, be it domestic, international, or any match. They were also slightly emotional. I will be connected to cricket, but I will not play again. When you have their support, it becomes easier to take the call,” Ajinkya Rahane concluded.