Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane on Friday said that he is gearing up for the 'new challenge' of playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Rahane was traded off to the franchise by Rajasthan Royals on the final day of the trading window ahead of IPL 2020 auction in December last year.
Rahane was roped in by the Royals in 2011 and he rose to become their highest capped player with 106 appearances, of which six were in the Champions League T20 matches. He is also the franchise's leading run-getter with 2810 runs at an average of 34.26 and a strike-rate of 122.65. And in the previous season, he also led Rajasthan Royals. In fact, in 24 games under his leadership, Royals won nine.
Rahane will now join fellow Indian teammates Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, and Shreyas Iyer in Delhi Capitals.
“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 then talked about the influence of Indian batting greats Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in his career.
“It’s always nice to be spoken about in the same sentence as Rahul Dravid,” Rahane said. “Both have been my role models for the way they played the game and for the way they are as human beings. Game wise both (of them) helped me at various stages of my career, but I always try to emulate them off the field too.”
