“Please stick to questions related to Ranji Trophy only.”
Mumbai team manager Bhushan Patil requested a group of journalists before Ajinkya Rahane took his gloves off after batting for a good half hour at the centre wicket soon after Mumbai had earned its second consecutive bonus point of the Ranji Trophy season.
But the Mumbai captain – who earned the last of his 85 Test caps six months ago – could not hold himself back when asked about his “goal” in the near future. “I am looking forward to doing well for Mumbai. One game at a time. The aim is to lift the Ranji Trophy, and the bigger aim is to play 100 Test matches,” Rahane said.
For a usually quiet man who indicated his desperation to return to India’s whites with a quirky social media post moments after India lost the Boxing Day Test in South Africa, the expression of his desire to be a permanent member of India’s Test team was a statement big enough. In a year where India is to play 14 more Test matches, Rahane is justified in hoping for a recall.
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While he fell for a duck – after being unfairly adjudged lbw off an inswing delivery that would have missed the leg-stump – Mumbai registered a second successive emphatic win in the Ranji Trophy this season. Besides the half-sentence about his international career, Rahane stuck to speaking about Mumbai’s excellent start to the season.
“It’s been a very good start for us this season. The challenge is to be consistent because when you want to win the Ranji Trophy, it’s all about being consistent over a period of time,” he said. “We are looking to take one game at a time. The home-away format forces the conditions to keep changing, so we have to be in the moment, try and see how the wicket will be in Kerala and play (according) to the conditions.”
While Mumbai will hope to continue its winning runs, Rahane will realise that he has to get back into scoring mode if he has to realise his “bigger aim”.
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