Hopeful of making an ODI comeback – Ajinkya Rahane

“In the last two years, I don’t like to tell people that my record is good but yes the fact is, my record is good. Cricket is a funny game and anything can happen. I definitely hope to come back into the ODI team,” Rahane told PTI.

Rahane last featured in an ODI in February 2018, on India's tour to South Africa. In the six-match ODI series, he made 140 runs at an average of 35 and crossed the fifty-run mark only once. He subsequently failed to cement his place in India's white-ball plans, including the 50-over World Cup.

However, while the ODI team was busy playing in the marquee tournament, Rahane utilised the time playing county cricket for Hampshire. The India batsman explained how spending some time away from the team helped him work on his mindset and find his mojo during the West Indies tour, where he scored 271 runs in four Test innings.

“At times, we get too caught up in our pursuit of success and then we suddenly realise that we are required to just stop, sit back and introspect. I did exactly that when I wasn’t selected for the 2019 World Cup,” he said.

“I am in a very good space right now and it started from the West Indies series. I was in England, playing county cricket where I learned a lot, not only as a cricketer but also as a human being,” he said. “In two months, I played seven games. So it wasn’t always about on-field learnings but also about off-field learning.

“I sometimes walked alone in the parks, at times jogged. Sometimes I would simply sit with a cup of coffee thinking about past days, thinking about my younger days, what used to be my mindset when I played club cricket or age-group cricket before I made my international debut. I needed some answers and got them.”

Rahane also revealed how his conversations with former India batsman Rahul Dravid helped him keep a positive mindset.

“Conversations with Rahul bhai also helped me get those answers that I should keep my batting really simple. Take one game at a time. Be in a positive mindset. So now, I am in a very good mind space. Whatever happened earlier is gone. Now I have to focus on upcoming things.”