Ajinkya Rahane must be looking forward eagerly to the Duleep Trophy tournament starting next week, as he returns to competitive cricket for the first time since May. He may be surprised to learn that there is a cricketer from New Zealand who hopes Rahane makes a comeback to the Indian side.
That Kiwi batter, Joe Carter, played some shots at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday that Rahane too would have approved. After his brilliant 197, Carter spoke of his admiration for the Indian veteran of 82 Tests and 90 ODIs.
When asked about his favourite batters in international cricket, the first name he took was hardly a surprise – Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain. “I really enjoy watching him; he is obviously, one of New Zealand’s great cricketers,” he said. “I was saying out in the middle to Sarfaraz (Khan) that probably my favourite player is Rahane. I just like how smooth his technique is. Hopefully, he gets back into the Test team.”
Back in 2018, Carter, who was born in England and moved to New Zealand, had set a World-record, along with Brett Hampton. Together, they scored 43 for Northern Districts off an over from Willem Ludick of Central Districts in the Ford Trophy, registering a new record for the most runs in an over in List A cricket.
The India A bowlers provided a stiffer challenge for him here. “Mukesh Kumar was super accurate,” he said. “All the pacers bowled well and swung the ball both ways. Arzan Nagwaswalla is a nice bowler and Kuldeep bowled really well too.”
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