IPL 2014: Keeping feet on ground and learning everyday key to success for Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has been Rajasthan Royals’ top scorer this IPL so far

With an average of 32 and strike rate of 122.40 so far in IPL 2014, Rajasthan Royal’s Ajinkya Rahane has been the highest scorer for his team in IPL 7. The 25-year-old has expressed his desire to ‘keep his feet’ grounded and admits that everyday is a ‘learning experience’ for him.

Rahane’s skill and talent earned him a spot in India’s tours to South Africa and New Zealand and he responded with a scintillating 96 in 2nd innings in Durban followed by his maiden hundred in Wellington. He had a mediocre World T20, but has made a great contribution in this IPL, scoring two half-centuries so far.

“I really learnt a lot from last year. My performance in last year’s IPL gave me immense confidence to take on world-class bowlers. Obviously those two tours (of South Africa and New Zealand) were important for my career and I am glad that I really did well,” Rahane told PTI in an interview.

“It is always a challenge to play on overseas tours because of different conditions and quality attacks. I am glad that I did well on those tours but I would like to keep my feet on the ground and keep learning day by day,” he added.

Despite possessing plenty of talent, Rahane has not managed to fix his place in the limited overs setup. When asked about his performances in the Asia Cup and World Cup T20, he said, “I wasn’t thinking about myself, I was thinking about the team. I was really disappointed because we lost the World Cup. I was really batting well at that point but didn’t capitalise on those scores.”

When asked about his contribution to Rajasthan Royals, he said, “I am not taking any pressure on myself. I am just enjoying this opportunity to learn as much as possible from all the senior players. I just want to enjoy this new responsibility,”

Rahane praised both Shane Watson and former captain of RR, Rahul Dravid in the current setup. “Shane (Watson) and Rahul bhai are equally same as captain. They both are really cool and calm on the field and take their decisions very firmly. So, I don’t think Shane is feeling any pressure and he is leading the Royals really well. It’s an honour to play under his captaincy,” he said.

Commenting on a new look side, he said the unit has gotten together admirably. “The atmosphere right now is really good. We have 10 players who played last year and 15 new players. Obviously the first few days were slightly different and it took time to adjust with the new players. But all the players have really gelled together well. We are a happy family now and looking great as a unit.”

RR’s home ground has been shifted from Rajasthan to Ahmedabad for this season of the IPL. “In Jaipur we really did well. That was our home ground till last year, we really enjoyed playing there but certain things we can’t control as a professional cricketer,” he said.

“But everyone is really enjoying being in Ahmedabad. As a professional we want to do well in Ahmedabad as we did in Jaipur. One game we won in Ahmedabad. We have three more games there and we hope we can keep the winning juggernaut going.” he concluded.