'The desire, the hunger, the fire is still there' - Ajinkya Rahane still dreams of an India comeback

Indian cricketer, Ajinkya Rahane, recently expressed that he did not lose the ambition of representing the country. The former Test skipper last played for the nation in July 2023, and has been out of the reckoning since a long time now. 

The soon-to-be 37-year-old Rahane, who is currently leading Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, was confident in terms of his fitness level required to play for the nation.

“I would love to be back in the Indian set-up again. The desire, the hunger, the fire is still there. Fitness-wise, I’m right up there. I’m a guy who will never give up. Everyday when I wake up, it’s about wanting to represent my country," shared Rahane during an episode of Star Sports' Press Room.

Don’t talk much about it: Rahane

Rahane shed light on the routine he has been following during the off-season in terms of grinding it out. He also touched upon his role for KKR and the IPL in general as a batter. 

“During the off-season, I train for two-three sessions a day. Skill-wise, I’ve been practising for so many years. The fitness factor is the key, I’m working hard on that, focusing on my diet. I don’t talk much about it. You’ve seen me playing with different strike-rates in the last two-three years. I started here with a very good strike-rate as well. Then, I had to adapt to the situation because our batters were struggling to get runs,” added Rahane.

One of Rahane's biggest achievements with India was leading the nation to a famous win in the 2020-21 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Australia. He was instrumental with the bat as well as his leadership. For the unversed, Rahane last represented the Indian ODI and T20I outfits in 2018 and 2016, respectively. As for KKR, Rahane has had a mixed season as a captain.