‘I was India’s 12th man for two years’: Ajinkya Rahane reveals toughest phase of his career

NEW DELHI: Former India batter Ajinkya Rahane has spoken about the difficult wait before making his Test debut, revealing that he spent two years travelling with the team as the 12th man. Rahane made his international debut in limited-overs cricket in 2011 but had to wait for 20 Test matches before finally getting his first chance in the longest format.

Instead of feeling disappointed, he said he used the period to learn from his teammates and improve himself.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rahane said: “The first two years, when I entered the team for the first time in 2011. I had to wait 20 games for my Test debut, and I was there as a 12th man for two years. That was a challenging phase, but I learnt a lot from it.”

“I had two choices: either to gain sympathy or try to improve myself. There is nothing bad about being a 12th man or serving water or helping your teammates. I took it positively.”

“I would look at everything, and because of that, I could play for a long time. Observing helped my attitude and mindset. It would be easy to gain sympathy, but I never expected that.”

Rahane also said patience was not something he had naturally when he started his career.

“It was there from before, but it also developed as I kept playing and gained experience. I will not say I had so much patience right from the start,” Rahane said.

“When you travel in a local train in Mumbai, it is challenging. So somewhere, patience develops right from there. When I started domestic cricket and kept scoring consistently, you unknowingly think that your name should come for India. And even I thought the same,” he said.

“But after talking to some senior players and over time, I realised it will happen when it has to happen. You do whatever is in your control. If you want to play for long, patience is important,” he added.

Rahane, who recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, scored 5,077 runs in 85 Tests at an average of 38.46, including 12 centuries and 26 half-centuries. He also played 90 ODIs, scoring 2962 runs at an average of 35.26, including 3 hundreds and 24 fifties. He also featured in 20 T20Is for India.