Ajinkya Rahane isn’t too much bothered about the criticism that he has been receiving over the years for his batting. He is ready to face yet another challenging tour of England, which will be kicked off with the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18.
Rahane has played 10 Test matches so far in England and is averaging 29.26 in those games. However, he says he will try to contribute to the team’s cause and the team’s win is his top priority.
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“I’m happy to take criticism. I feel it’s because of the criticism I’m here. I always want to give my best whether people criticise me or not,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
“For me, it’s important to give my best for my country and contribute each and every time be it as a batsman or a fielder.”
He said he really don’t think about the criticism as it is something that people do.
“I don’t really think about criticism. If people criticise me, that’s their thing, and that’s their job. I cannot control all these things. For me, I always focus on controllables, putting my best foot forward, working hard and following my process and the result follows,” Rahane added.
“I will be playing my natural game. Winning is really important whether I score a hundred or not. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself and even if my 30 or 40 is valuable for the team, I am happy.”
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Rahane is India’s most prolific run-scorer in the league phase of the World Test Championship. With 1095 runs, he scored the most runs for India in this period. However, he wants to focus on the upcoming one-off final against New Zealand.
“I like to be in the present. I know the conditions. It’s about being in the moment, adjusting to the conditions. Also, me being the highest scorer doesn’t matter now. It’s past. I just don’t want to put extra pressure and would want to play freely,” he further added.
“It’s just a mental thing. If we can switch mentally and adapt, it’s important. Yes, one-off, we have to take it as another game, not as a final or anything. We just want to give our best, play good cricket, be consistent in the five days.”
After the final, India will lock horns against England in a five-match Test series, which will begin in August at Trent Bridge.
