Rahane on T20 axe: Respect selectors' decision

Photo: AP

Mumbai: India batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who has been axed for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Australia, on Monday said that he respects the decision taken by the team management and the selectors.

"Yes, so much cricket we play, the team management, selectors take a decision and we respect it. Speaking about competition, it is necessary and it helps you to give your best performance. Whoever gets a chance does well for the team. I have always enjoyed the competition (among players)," Rahane told reporters here.

The right-handed batsman has been among runs in the just-concluded five-ODI series against Australia having scored his fourth consecutive half-century in the final game, which India won by seven wickets, last night in Nagpur.

Rahane said he was happy with his form.

"Yes, I am happy. The responsibility and the opportunity I was given, the way I was supposed to bat, I did. Definitely, I am happy with the form I have carried from the West Indies tour, I have made four consecutive fifties," he explained.

"I could have converted the fifties into hundreds. It was in my mind to contribute, I shared three 100-run stands with Rohit (Sharma) and our aim was to give a good start to the team," he added.

The Mumbai batsman also said that he would convert the 50s into 100s if he gets a chance.

"In the future series if I get a chance I will convert the 50s into 100s," he quipped.

On the team's performance, Rahane expressed satisfaction and said whoever got a chance has performed.

"It is a proud moment for all of us. Our aim is 2019 World Cup and we are going in that direction. For that we have to play series by series and match by match, the aim of this team is to win every match and series, and we always try to improve.

"All have performed. In the middle-order Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav, whenever they got opportunity, they have performed. Rohit and Virat (Kohli) have always performed well. Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal got a chance and they did well. Our bench strength is good.

"The fact that all of us get a chance and perform is a good sign. If you have to win the 2019 World Cup, then you have to test your bench strength," Rahane, who cleaned a street near the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex centre today as part of the cleanliness campaign to mark birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, said.