Amit Kumar| TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: May 8, 2020, 12:40 IST
NEW DELHI: Ajinkya Rahane has called his move from Rajasthan Royals to Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ‘a new challenge’. The dashing right-hander left the Royals after playing 106 matches for them. With 3098 runs at a healthy average of 35.60 and a strike rate of 122.30, Rahane is also the leading run-getter for the Rajasthan outfit (including both IPL and CLT20).
The Indian Test vice-captain also led the Royals in 24 matches. Under his captaincy, the inaugural edition’s IPL champions won nine games.
Rahane now is set for a new journey with the Delhi Capitals. He will be playing alongside the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant. Australian legend Ricky Ponting is the head coach of the Delhi outfit.
“It’s a new challenge. I’ve played with many of the Indian players in Delhi so there already is a comfort factor, knowing so many of them. We are a good unit and looking forward to having a good season,” Rahane told Timesofindia.com.
Rahane has represented India in 65 Tests, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is so far and because of his playing style and calm and composed demeanor, both on and off the field, he is often compared with Rahul Dravid’.
“It’s always nice to be spoken about in the same sentence as Rahul Dravid," Rahane, who has worked closely with Dravid at the Rajasthan Royals, said.
Along with Dravid, batting maestro and his former India team-mate Sachin Tendulkar also had a great influence on Rahane.
Rahane made his ODI (September 2011) and T20I debut (August 2011) with Dravid also in the same eleven. He also got the chance to bat alongside Tendulkar when he made his Test debut in 2013 against Australia in Delhi.
“Both have been my role models for the way they played the game and for the way they are as human beings,” the right-hander told TimesofIndia.com
"Game wise both (of them) helped me at various stages of my career, but I always try to emulate them off the field too,” Rahane signed off.