After being not making the cut for the Indian team for World Cup 2019, Rahane signed up with Hampshire to to play the County Championships and his move paid rich dividends and helped him perform with the bat in India’s recent West Indies tour.
The right-hander further added, “After the Australia series, there was a long break. When I got to know that I was not part of the World Cup squad, my plan was to play county cricket and luckily, Hampshire called me. I thought I can actually use my time really well and learn about cricket and life. It’s a completely different experience when you play county cricket.”
On the experience in Hampshire, Rahane said: “Here, we get things so easily. In county cricket, you need to do everything on your own. Apart from cricket, small things helped me a lot. I used to walk alone after the practice session and question myself about what I was thinking when I started playing cricket.”
The Indian team has been facing a crisis over the Number 4 position in their batting order over the last couple of seasons. While Rahane had a long spell at the coveted batting position, he ran out of favour over his ability to rotate the strike and score runs consistently became under the scanner.