"Want to wear.."- Ajinkya Rahane aims to make a strong comeback to Indian Cricket Team

Ajinkya Rahane last played for India in July 2023.

Out of favour Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane aims to make a comeback to the Indian Cricket Team and is striving hard. Rahane last played for Indian Team in July 2023 during a test match against the West Indies. He has been overlooked from the test setup since then.

The right-handed batsman is a test specialist batsman who plays in the middle-order. He has been playing domestic cricket consistently since his ouster from the national side. The 36-year-old has played 85 test matches in his career with over 5000 runs. After 2018, Rahane was overlooked shown door in white-ball cricket, however. he continued to be a familiar face in whites since his ouster in 2023.

Ajinkya Rahane also led the Indian team to the famous Gabba test win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. However, due to lack of consistency, he was phased out from India’s test side. He then made a comeback to the side for ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 final against Australia and was India’s top-scorer in the one-off game as well. Following that, he couldn’t replicate the form in the subsequent test series in West Indies and then was ousted from the test setup.

The desire, the hunger, the fire is still there: Ajinkya Rahane

Currently, the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Rahane has scored the most runs for his side. After his impressive performance for the side with the bat, Rahane is now optimistic to make it to the Indian test setup again.

During a conversation with Star Sports, the veteran Indian batter said he would love to be back into the national team once again. He also added he still has the desire, hunger and fire to play for the national side.

“I would love to be back in the Indian set-up again. The desire, the hunger, the fire is still there. Fitness-wise, I am right up there. I just want to take one game at a time, thinking about this IPL right now, and then, let’s see what happens in the future,” Rahane said.

“I am a guy who will never give up. I always try and give my best on the field; give more than 100 per cent. It’s always about that, focusing on controllable things. I have been playing domestic cricket as well and I am really enjoying my cricket at this moment,” he further added.

Want to wear those Indian colours again: Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane has a strong desire to wear the Indian jersey once again and represent the country. He also revealed that he’s making a lot of effort to keep himself fit and injury-free.

“Every day when I wake up, it’s always about what goals I want to achieve. For me, there is nothing higher than representing your country. I want to represent my country. I want to wear those Indian colours again. During the off-season, I train for three sessions a day. I feel at this moment, for me, keeping myself really fit is really important, recovery is really important,” Rahane concluded.

India will tour England for a five-match test series following IPL 2025. Rahane might be looking at that test series to make his comeback in India whites.

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