"People who know the sport will not talk like that" - Ajinkya Rahane hits back at critics

Former India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has hit back at his critics and their calls to drop him from the red-ball team. The 33-year-old remarked that people who know and love cricket "will not talk like that" and will instead regard his contributions "sensibly".

Rahane's stock in red-ball cricket has plummeted since he led India to a historic Test win in Australia in 2020-21. Last year, he played 13 Tests, collecting 479 runs at an average of 20.82. He scored two 50s and some crucial 40s, but lacked consistency overall. His shot selection came under fire from a bevy of pundits too. The poor form culminated in him being stripped of his vice-captaincy last December.

When asked how he took the criticism during Boria Majumdar's "Backstage with Boria", Rahane said:

"I just smile at it. People who generally know the sport will not talk like that. I don't want to get too deep into that. Everyone knows it, you know it, what happened in Australia. Even after and before Australia the contributions I made, especially in red-ball cricket, I don't want to talk about it but Australia was really. As I said, people who know the sport, love the sport they'll talk sensibly."

Rahane's last Test series - against South Africa in December - is being considered an inflection point in his career. He scored 136 runs from six games at an below-par average of 22.67, which prompted media claims that he could even get a demotion on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) annual contract list, while also losing his place in the team.

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"I took the decisions but someone else took the credit for it" - Ajinkya Rahane

Without taking any names, Rahane even claimed that some people, possibly from the team management, took credit for his on-field decisions and dressing-room tactics after the win in Australia.

For him, he said, it was important to just win the series and he never felt the need to claim credit back or praise himself.

Rahane said:

"I know what I've done there. I don't need to tell anyone. That's not my nature to go and take cricket. Yes, there were some things that I took the decisions on the field or in the dressing room but someone else took the credit for it. [What was] important for me was that we won the series. That was a historical series and for me, that was really special."

He added:

"After that, the reactions from people or those who took credit or what was said on the media, 'I did this' or 'This was my decision', or 'This was my call', it was for them to talk about. From my end, I knew what decisions I took on the field and what decisions I took on my instincts. Yes, we talked with the management too but I used to laugh about it, that is what I did on the field, I never talk much about myself or praise myself. But what I did there, I knew."

When asked about his batting, the right-hander assured that he's still confident about his skills and that he still has "good cricket" left in him. He signed off by saying:

"Yes I am confident about my own ability, I am batting really well and I believe in my ability. And I still believe I have good cricket left in me."

Rahane will now play in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw.