‘I Will Never Give Up’: Ajinkya Rahane Vows To Keep India Dream Alive

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane on Friday said he would never give up on his "desire and hunger" to play for India again despite being out of reckoning for the past two years.

The 36-year-old's last Test appearance was in 2023 and he has been out of contention for a white-ball slot for close to a decade now. However, he hasn't given up.

"I would love to be back in the Indian set-up again. The desire, the hunger, the fire is still there. Fitness-wise, I am right up there. I just want to take one game at a time, thinking about this IPL right now, and then, let's see what happens in the future," Rahane said on Star Sports Press Room.

"I am a guy who will never give up. (I) always try and give my best on the field; give more than 100 per cent. It's always about that, focusing on controllable things. I have been playing domestic cricket as well and I am really enjoying my cricket at this moment," he added.

Rahane's biggest moment of glory was perhaps the 2020-21 tour of Australia in which he led an injury-plagued side to a historic and emotionally overwhelming 2-1 Test series win. However, within the next couple of years he found himself on the sidelines as younger players climbed up the ladder.

"Every day when I wake up, it's always about what goals I want to achieve. For me, there is nothing higher than representing your country," he reiterated.

"I want to represent my country. I want to wear those Indian colours again. During (the) off-season, I train for two-three sessions a day. I feel at this moment, for me, keeping myself really fit is really important, recovery is really important," he said.

"(I am) focusing on my diet as well...the motivation to do well for India, it's still there. I am enjoying my cricket, that is the important thing. I am still passionate. I still love the game." The interaction eventually veered towards the IPL and KKR's performance so far. Rahane said the franchide is "completely backing" struggling vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer. The defending champions enter a do-or-die phase in the IPL, needing wins in each of their four remaining games to stay in contention for the playoffs.

Iyer, the costliest player for the franchise at Rs 23.75 crore, has been erratic with his scores of 60 and 45 in consecutive games being the only performances of note.

In the last four matches, he has scored a total of 28 runs but Rahane has backed his deputy to come good soon.

"Every player goes through that phase where he is trying his best but the performance is not coming. He is a quality player. We all know that he has done well for the franchisee in the past, (he has) won the matches for the team as well," "It's important from management (and) leadership group point of view (that) we back him. He has been working really hard. People generally only see about the results and the outcome. But the hard work which all the players are doing, that is really important." "From my point of view, we are completely backing Venkatesh Iyer. He is just one innings away. You can probably see one good innings from him in next four games," he added.

Rahane admitted KKR have struggled to find a successful opening pair and their combinations have been failing to make a dent.

"Sunil Narine has done well in the past for us. This year, we started with Quinny (Quinton de Kock). Quinny played a very good knock. But again, he couldn't capitalise on that. He is trying hard. He is trying his best. But now, we have to look at the positives rather than what is not working for us," he said.

"Obviously, the errors (have) happened and that can happen in this format. You want your players to play with freedom, play sometimes with high-risk cricket, so we are bound to make errors." "I don't like to pinpoint on any players or any particular number. Everyone has to contribute...It's not happening, yes. I accept that." Rahane said KKR will take it one game at a time and not look too far ahead with their next two opponents, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, already out of contention.

"When teams are out, they have got nothing to lose and they come with a different mindset to play the game. For us, it's important to go out there with the right mindset (and) right attitude on that particular day and give our best," he said.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

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