A ‘royally’ shy Opener

He does not spike his hair, nor does he change his hairstyle every two months. He does not believe in setting fashion trends and unlike most of his India teammates, he is not fond of tattoos either. Ajinkya Rahane is a generation next batsman, but with qualities that separate him from the rest. On the field, he is quiet, refrains from swearing at the opposition and the thought of attending press conferences after a successful day’s play gives him palpitations.

What the 26-year-old excels at and gets paid for is his ability to wield the willow to caress the ball beautifully through the off side, jump back and guide it to third-man or move quickly to pull the red cherry when bowled short. What has been thoroughly impressive is the Mumbai boy’s consistency in formats that are completely different. He averages 48 away from home in Test cricket and already has a century to his name in New Zealand, England and Australia.

His 103 at the iconic Lord’s played a big role in India registering their first win at the ground after 28 years. “All four series were really crucial for me, but the innings I played at Lord’s is very special. Scoring a 100 and winning a Test is what matters to me,” Rahane recalls.

That century also helped him emulate the feat of his mentor Rahul Dravid, the last Indian to score a century at Lord’s. “I have learned a lot from Rahul bhai both on and off the field. He has been a role model. He has told me to keep my game very simple and not over-complicate it,”he says.

For Rahane, Sachin Tendulkar and coach Pravin Amre have been constant sounding boards. It was Tendulkar, who, after his farewell 200th Test in Mumbai had a message for Rahane. “…If Rahane continued to serve cricket the way he had always done, the game would take care of him in the future,” Tendulkar wrote about the incident in his autobiography Playing It My Way.

Always the one to put the impetus on training and preparation, Rahane has proved that he has hung on to every word Tendulkar said. Knowing that he may not get much time to practice, Rahane continued his training till two days before his wedding last September.

Once perceived as a misfit for slam-bang T20 due to his reliance on traditional methods of scoring, Rahane, who opens for Rajasthan Royals, is the first person in the ongoing Indian Premier League season to breach the 400-run mark. He does not have the power of a Chris Gayle and does not clear the fence often, but is still highly successful. “It is challenging, but as a professional cricketer, you’re used to this. You play Test cricket, then switch to one-day and then you’re playing T20. It’s all about mental adjustment. The technique remains the same. I normally focus on the mental aspect.”

Before he made his Test debut, Rahane spent 16 matches on the bench. In domestic cricket, he had scored over 4,500 runs with 17 hundreds. When he got his opportunity, he grabbed it and proved his mettle. Ever since joining Rajasthan in 2011, Rahane has grown in stature. He is now a senior member of the side with Dravid’s message for him to bat through the 20 overs. With the way Rahane has been keeping himself fully focussed, it won’t be surprising to see him leading the Royals in the seasons to come.