After being snubbed for England series, veteran Indian batsman still hopeful of playing 100 Tests

Veteran Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane seems to be at the fag end of his career. Under his leadership, India won in the memorable Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia in 2020-21 season. However, the most reliable batsman has been snubbed from the Indian team for the upcoming Test series against England.

Rahane finds himself in a sticky position where he seems to have been fazed out of the Indian team. Rahane, who is with the Mumbai squad in the ongoing Ranji Trophy campaign, understands his situation pretty well. However, the dependable batter has not given up on playing 100 Tests for India. He is still determined for a comeback into the Indian team.

Rahane, who has featured in 85 Tests, last played for India on the tour of West Indies in July 2023. He is currently the captain of Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. 

“My goal is to secure both the Ranji Trophy and the bigger objective of playing in 100 Test matches,” Rahane said in an interview after Mumbai’s second successive outright win in the competition.

“I am focused on performing well for Mumbai and taking each game one step at a time,” he added.

Notably, like Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara is another veteran batsman who is working very hard to make a comeback to the Indian Test squad.