Ajinkya Rahane credits his growth as a batsman to watching videos of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman

Rahane celebrates his ton at Lord’s

Ajinkya Rahane has firmly cemented his place in the Test team with eye-catching performances away from home in the last 6 months. He has been a consistent run-getter for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy over the last few years, but there were doubts whether he can take his game up a notch and perform in Test cricket. He has answered those doubts emphatically and shown that he is up to it at the top level.

Impressive performances away from home

He made an impressive 96 against South Africa in Durban in December, when India had their backs to the wall, forcing people to sit up and take notice of the diminutive Mumbaikar, and he has proven that that innings wasn’t just a flash in the pan by making centuries in New Zealand and England.

Rahane’s emergence at No.5 in the batting order has earned him comparisons with VVS Laxman, who batted in the middle-order with so much skill and composure for a decade or so, and the Rajasthan Royals batsman feels that he has benefitted immensely from observing the way Laxman used to go about his business.

"When batting at No 5 you have more time in your hands. I noticed how Laxman paaji made the optimal use of time. He used to come to the dressing room, relax, take a shower and take a brief nap.

I learnt from him how important it is that during this time when you are waiting for your turn to bat," the 26-year-old was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Motivation from Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman

The danger men in the Indian batting line-up coming into this series were considered to be Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, India’s two star batsmen, but it is Rahane, along with Murali Vijay, who has posed problems for the England bowlers. He has already scored 270 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 54 with 2 Tests still to play.

Rahane credited his rapid growth as a player to watching videos of some of the great innings played by the recently retired Indian batting greats.

"I keep watching the videos of all the great innings played Rahul bhai, Sachin paaji and Laxman paaji. I watch how they approached a pressure situation and got the team out of the jail. I draw motivation from watching their innings," he said.