Ajinkya Rahane finally reaped harvest for all the hard work he put in after getting dropped from India's Test set up owing to his lean patch with the bat. Riding on his recent exploits in the Ranji Trophy and ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Rahane made it to India's Test squad for the all-important World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia which will be played between June 7 to June 11 at the Oval.
It will be Rahane's first appearance in India's Test set up since South Africa tour of 2021-2022, which scripted his downfall. Rahane, who will be replacing injured Shreyas Iyer in India's Test squad, is likely to feature in the final XI for Team India.
Meanwhile, Rahane penned an emotional note on his official LinkedIn profile in which he recalled his cricketing journey and talked about his hardships which came his way in his cricketing career and ultimately scripted his India comeback.
"In my career as a professional cricketer, I have realised that the journey is not always smooth sailing. There are moments when things don't go as planned, and it becomes tempting to get bogged down by the result. However, I have learned that it is essential to stick to the process and not let the outcome affect our focus,” Rahane wrote on LinkedIn.
“As I look back on my career, I realize that the moments when I stuck to the process, despite the unfavourable result, were the ones that taught me the most. These are the moments that helped me grow as a person and as a cricketer. I realized that the times when I let the result dictate my approach were not my finest moments,” he added.
The 34-year-old also talked about handling pressure in certain situations and dealing with the immense expectations from fans.
"Sticking to the process is not only essential in cricket but in any field that demands excellence. It helps us focus on the things that we can control and take ownership of our actions. When we focus on the process, we don't get overwhelmed by the outcome, and it keeps us motivated to keep working towards our goals.
"As someone who has been in the spotlight for several years, I know that the expectations can be overwhelming. However, I have learned to not let the pressure get to me and focus on the things that I can control. It is the same advice that I would give to anyone who is looking to advance in their field.
“So, let us all focus on the process and trust in our abilities. The results will follow, but until then, let us keep working hard and keep pushing ourselves towards excellence,” Rahane concluded.
After his dismal outing with the bat in the South Africa series Rahane was dropped from the squad but he didn't give up and went back to the domestic set-up to figure out his shortcomings. He succeeded in his efforts and piled lots of runs in the Ranji Trophy with his spectacular batting and drew selector's attention yet again. Not just this, he also unleashed a new avatar in the IPL 2023 playing for CSK where he has been scoring runs with a lightning strike rate of 199.
India's squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
Australia's squad for WTC final: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
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