Ajinkya Rahane ahead of Ranji Trophy game against J and K

A star studded Mumbai line-up is all set to light up the league game of Ranji Trophy as Indian captain Rohit Sharma and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal will walk out to play against Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) at the MCA-BKC ground starting from Thursday. Rohit’s return to domestic cricket has been the result of a series of bad form in red ball cricket lately. A 1-3 series loss in Australia forced the Indian board to come up with new guidelines for its contracted players which ensured its premium cricketers turn up for their respective states.
Sharma’s last appearance for the Mumbai team was in 2015 against Uttar Pradesh. He had a series of bad knocks in India’s tour of Australia, scoring 3,9, 10, 3, 6 runs in four Test matches, averaging around 10.93, and then decided to step down for the last Test against Australia in Sydney.
Is the bad phase and lack of runs running in Sharma’s mind? Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane says he is confident that Rohit will bounce back.
“I know Rohit. Rohit has always been relaxed. Even playing at the international level, his character is similar. His attitude is pretty much relaxed. He knows his game really well so, no one has to tell him what he needs to do. And Rohit knows his game really well. Once he gets in, I’m sure he will do well. He’s always been a relaxed, cool guy, on and off the field. He’s never changed, which is a very good thing.”
Rahane, who has known Sharma for long now, says the veteran batsman is confident.
“A player has to be confident and I feel Rohit is really confident. He batted really well yesterday (in) a couple of sessions so it’s a part and parcel of a player’s career. I am really confident about Rohit and I am sure once he gets in, he will get a big one,” he added. “As a player, every player goes through that phase (and) that is part and parcel of any sportsman’s career. What is important is (that) he is hungry, he is determined to do well. I am sure, once he gets in, he will get a big one.”
Mumbai will also see Jaiswal coming back as an opener. It will be Sharma and Jaiswal opening the innings for defending champions. Jaiswal did play Ranji Trophy last season before he was picked for the Indian team.
Rahane says it’s good to have both of them back. He said, “Rohit, after a decade, (and) Yashasvi I think, (after) one year. But it’s good to have them back. Yashasvi has been doing well consently in red-ball cricket. Rohit, we all know that he’s been doing really well as well. He led the team really well.”
Back in the dressing room, the Mumbai players have been asking questions to Sharma. Rahane says they are trying to learn from both of the India players. The Mumbai captain feels match preparation is important for any player.
“For any cricketer, getting match preparation (and) game-time is really important. Obviously, there is no red-ball (Test) cricket at this moment. But they are going to play white-ball (competitions).”
Mumbai are placed at third in the league with 22 points while J&K are placed second in the group A. The challenge for both the team is shifting back to red ball cricket mode. The Indian board this year had decided to conduct the Ranji Trophy in two phases. The board has sandwiched Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy in between the red ball cricket. With two league games to go, Mumbai and J&K will hope to get back in groove so that they can make it to the knockouts.

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