"Really happy to be back with the Indian Team," Ajinkya Rahane in an interview with BCCI ahead of the WTC Final 2021-23

India will play their second straight World Test Championship Final starting from 7th June. The Men in Blues will face the mighty Aussies in the Final. During the IPL, one of India's most reliable batters in the Test format, Ajinkya Rahane got a call-up to join the squad after the end of the league. Rahane wasn't part of the squad for the past 17-18 months after the South Africa series. His recent dominant performances in domestic cricket for Mumbai and brilliant displays for Chennai in the IPL won him a spot in the squad. The 34-year-old expressed his feelings in an Interview with BCCI ahead of the WTC Final 2021-23.

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Star Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane sat down for a 7 minutes 24 seconds interview with the BCCI.TV ahead of India's World Test Championship Final 2023 match against Australia. Rahane explained everything after the South Africa series and expressed his excitement and emotions before going into the Final.

WTC Final: Ajinkya Rahane opened up about his journey in the past 18-19 months in an interview with BCCI

"The Final was great, it was for Mahi Bhai. I really enjoyed playing for CSK. The way I was batting in the IPL and before even IPL, I had a brilliant Domestic season for Mumbai. Coming to Test Cricket now, personally, I am really happy to be back with the Indian Team," Ajinkya Rahane stated in an interview with BCCI.

"I just want to continue my batting form and don't want to think about T20 or Test Cricket format. The way I am batting right now, I don't want to complicate things. The more I keep it simple, it will be better," Rahane added.

"It was an emotional moment for me. As I said, coming after 18-19 months, when I got dropped, the support from my family was massive. It was very important and my dream was still to play for India, that's what I told my family. For me, Playing for India matters a lot. So, I trained hard, stayed fit, made game plans and as I said, I had a very good season for Mumbai in the Domestic Cricket. So, when I got the call, it was emotional for me and my family as they backed me a lot," he added.

Ajinkya Rahane is coming into the Final after a great performance in the Ranji Trophy season and a great IPL 2023 campaign that ended with a title. Rahane scored 634 runs with an impressive average of 57.43 and made two centuries as well. He also scored 326 runs in 14 matches in the IPL at a strike rate of 172.49.

Rahane spoke about his batting mindset and what keeps him going

"Cricket is my passion. I always want to give my best whether I am playing domestically or internationally, you always have to give your best. We won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and as a Captain of Mumbai, I had to give my best. I wanted to stay and enjoy the moment and be better as a person and as a batter. As I said, it's all about mindset. The situation does matter. We have got 5-6 days of time to prepare for the WTC Final. I will try to exist at the moment and as I said, have to show the mentality and intent that I showed in IPL and Ranji Trophy," Rahane said.

WTC Final: Rahane on making a return to the Indian team

Thanks to BCCI firstly for selecting me. As I said, when I went back to Domestic Cricket, the dream was still to make a return to the Indian squad and that kept me going. Every time, every day when I woke up, practicing or playing, the one thing that kept me on and on was to still play for India again. Massive support from my family but enjoying every moment rather than regrets or going towards negative directions helped me a lot.