Diligence and patience are key to success and in Indian cricket; Ajinkya Rahane personifies that mantra on and off the field. Back from a brief vacation and spending some quality time with family, the batsman had hit the nets at the indoor cricket academy at the Bandra Kurla Complex the verynext morning. Although, still a few weeks away from his next assignment the batsman was religiously going about his routines to stay in the groove. Even today, even on a match morning the top-order bat, takes 50 to 100 catches for slip practice that sets him apart. The vice-captaincy is yet another acknowledgement of the hard work, and a responsibility that the cricketer is sure will get the best out of him. Couple of days later on a quiet morning after finishing training, Rahane reflected on his approach to the game, batting, fielding, partnership with Virat Kohli and the forthcoming tour to West Indies in a free flowing interview with bcci.tv at the Sharad Pawar Indoor Academy. How do you look back on the journey from being a kid in Dombivali to being an integral part of the Indian team? I am definitely happy about the kind of journey I have had so far and it will continue. It is a continuous learning process and that’s why you play cricket. Off the field too, the learning continues. There have been challenges, but my attitude has been that I will face them positively. If you do that, then half the battle is over. So from the Dombivali train journey, the Under -12, Under -13 days to Ranji Trophy and through to the Indian team to now has been memorable. I have learnt a lot and enjoyed it as well. Patience and temperament have been the hallmark of your journey. Where does it come from – have you worked towards it, is it internal? I always had patience, but it has grown with experience. It was instilled by my family. My father would tell me that hard work will always bear fruit even if it happens a little late. If you get irritated or frustrated, it will only be your loss. I learnt a lot about patience from my Karate training and the intense training that came with it.

How do you approach the three formats and maintain a healthy strike-rate?

As a batsman or as a sportsman, knowing and understanding your own game is very important. When T20 started we didn’t have an idea about the pace (of the game), the strike rate required for a batsman. But after gaining experience, I feel that there isn’t much of a difference in one-day and T20. I have to adjust mentally. My game is such that the longer I stay at the crease I will be able to contribute more effectively. If I try to play for 20 overs then the team will benefit. If you see, my strike rate in the first six overs, six to 12, and then from 14 to 18, it has increased. So I have realised that risk-free shots that yield runs are important. You have to take risk in T20 cricket. What others think shouldn’t bother you, but definitely try and learn from it when you get out.

As a professional cricketer it is important to have that self belief. How you switch across different formats mentally is very important. Technically, I always focus on the basics which are almost the same across formats, but mentally reading the situation, visualizing it makes a lot of difference. Is adjustment as easy as most of you make it sound? Definitely it is not, but how you train your mind is important. I talk to myself all the time and that helps me. Talking to myself about what to do in different situations, how to read them, visualize what conditions I will be playing in, the approach I will have has made a lot of difference to me. The answers that I arrive at when I have conversations with myself have definitely helped a lot. Most batsmen now imbibe the methodical and risk-free approach in T20s that stalwarts have spoken about. What is your take on that and what is your approach?

Batting has definitely improved. As an opening batsman it is pertinent to build a foundation for the team. You don’t always get going from the first ball, many a times you have to spend a bit of time and take a measure of the situation and then you can take chances. A lot of teams and batsmen have realised that laying a foundation is very important and your middle and lower-middle order can finish the innings well. It might seem that 20 overs are few, but when you are playing, 20 overs is a lot of time. Batsmen are reading the game well and it is the responsibility of the top-order for the team to do well. How do you approach anchoring in the three formats? In T20 it is important to know your game. I have realised that whenever I have tried to do something different I get out. So I decided to improve within my game and as the game progresses I will play shots which will get me a boundary. You have to take risk in T20, but at the same time shot selection is crucial. In every team there is one batsman who plays 15 -16 overs, or on a good day full 20 overs. I think that is my role in whichever team I play for. If I do that, then the other batsmen can bat around me. It is important that whoever is assigned that role fulfills it because it is a team sport and you shouldn’t be thinking about just yourself. Many a times the thought of hitting sixes or big shots crosses my mind too, but you have to realise what the team needs and play accordingly. It is crucial to take the ones and twos as well. It is important to rotate the strike and hit the odd boundary. So, while my role is to anchor, I also should be able to accelerate when it is required and I can do that. In one-day the mindset is of how I can rotate the strike especially now that I bat at No 4. In ODIs the situations are different. Sometimes I come in to bat very early or sometimes after 30 overs. When I am in the dressing room I visualize the situation and watch the flow of the game, the run-rate and then I try to play accordingly. Whatever situation I go in to bat, I try to give myself a bit of time initially - in T20 five-six balls, in one-day I can give myself 10 to 15 balls. Once I get an idea of the wicket I can bat instinctively. In one-day also the effort is to build a partnership and hit the odd boundary. In Tests batting at No.5 is a challenge because sometimes you go in to bat really early and sometimes after the ball is old and you have to face the second new ball. Making runs is very important in Tests as well; especially now that we play with five bowlers. After me there is the wicketkeeper and then the lower-order and bowlers. At that time the main challenge is to defend as well as take the team to a good position; at the same time you have to score runs as well. The best example of that is the last Test in Delhi when I made a century against South Africa. When Virat Kohli and I were batting in the second innings the flow of my batting wasn’t the same like it was in the first innings, and since Virat was batting in a good flow I decided that I will take singles and give him strike. And I think he was batting on 83 at the end of third day’s play and I was batting on 52. Next day after facing the first ball I felt that I can attack so I told him that you take your time and I will try to attack.

In Tests, reading the situation, giving the tail-enders confidence when they are batting with you, how you communicate with them is crucial. Communication is very important when you are anchoring and especially when you are batting with the bowlers showing faith in them is very important. And I learnt a lot of these things when I batted at different positions. I would consider myself lucky that I got an opportunity to bat at different positions and I got to learn a lot from that. I have watched VVS Laxman’s innings like the one in the win against Australia in Mohali and many others. I have watched his batting clips, also Michael Hussey and MS Dhoni, because they too bat with the lower-order in one-day and in Tests. Watching them, I have observed the kind of approach and what stage of the match they accelerate or how many balls do you let the lower-order batsmen face. Since the partnership in South Africa, we have watched you and Kohli forge partnerships and egg each other on. Can you talk to us about that partnership? Yes, that partnership with Virat in Durban – A Dale Steyn delivery had hit me on the helmet and I didn’t react, I didn’t want to, so Virat came and told me ‘attack kar isko’ (attack him) when your partner gives you a positive response (it boosts your confidence and) I too responded positively sating “yes, I am going to attack.” That attitude is inside both of us from the beginning. As we continued to play together we understood and got an idea of each other’s game and we have both been enjoying batting with each other. Running between the wickets and communication is very important, but how you do it also matters. You can communicate in various ways but positivity and having intent is very important when you are playing in the middle. He is aggressive and I am calm so that combination works for us. In a way I too am aggressive but I don’t show it; he is different. Each individual is different and that benefits both of us in different ways. When I need to be aggressive he boosts me and when he needs to cool down then I am able to probably help. During practice also we keep talking to each other, discussing what should be the approach and how to bat in different situations. To enjoy that and communicate is very important. How has the partnership with Virat flourished?

It is important that you trust your partner. Virat reads the bowler well and I feel that whether it is Virat or someone else if you have trust in your partner then you can enjoy the partnership and it’s because of that trust that we began enjoying each other’s company. Not only on the field but off the field as well we continue to communicate and that trust is the factor that has helped our partnership.

How do you shift gears? Once you give yourself time you get an idea about the conditions, how the ball is coming on to the bat, the bounce, and pace then can play instinctively. My game is such that if I give myself time and even if initially I have fewer runs vis a vis number of balls played, I can make up for it later. Obviously I got an idea through experience. And when you are executing there shouldn’t be other things on your mind, you should be focused. You should be focused on the shot that you want to hit and give it a hundred percent. You can’t be indecisive. You have to back the shot you have decided to play a hundred percent and follow through with it. If it is defense that you have decided on then do that. I learnt as I played - what mindset you should be in when you are batting. Many a times it so happens that you are thinking of playing a shot but when you are about to play it there is something else altogether on your mind. So maybe it is because of that, that you might not succeed or get out. If you have decided and play that shot and get out that’s fair enough but the chances of success are higher. Pegged as a longer format batsman how did you work your way forward?

I always believed in my abilities and always will. I always took everything in a positive note. You get to learn from every comment if you take it positively and my attitude has been to learn from it. I am always thinking on how I can focus and make my game better. Practice is what helped me. During practice I try to visualize and anticipate what shots will I play in a certain situation, which shots do I want to work on in T20 or Tests or one-day and on different wickets in different wickets, what kind of bounce will there be and then practice accordingly. I try to have as hard or difficult a practice as possible. I don’t like doing easy things. The tougher and intense you are on yourself during practice the better you will perform. I try to be prepared for the toughest of situations. Example for West Indies – depending on the pace or bounce that we might get or there might be wickets with a spongy bounce so I practice for that. In indoors (at the BKC I) get to bat on a hard surface, sometimes tennis ball but with a spongy bounce or with a wet rubber ball. The more uncomfortable I am here, where I am getting hit by the balls, struggling maybe to hit the shots, but the tougher situation that I deal with here the easier it will be for me when I actually go to play.

How you stay ahead of the opposition, how you outthink them is more important. To reach the highest level is easy but to dominate there is quite something and I have always thought about dominating at the highest level.

How important is technique to you and what are the changes that you have done recently?

Technique is very important, but I think more than technique how strong you are mentally, how focussed you are is very important. I feel that 85% of the game is a mind game. While I work and focus on my technique during the off season or before a series, how tough I make myself mentally at the same time is important. Except South Africa you have a century in every country that you have played so far. How do you look forward to the West Indies? I never planned for it. It is important for me that I stay in the present and play according to the situation and I prepare accordingly. It is a special thing to score centuries in different countries. I have enjoyed batting in all the countries, but I never thought that I have to score these many hundreds or on this tour I have to score so many runs. The tour to West Indies isn’t going to be any different in that sense. I will be preparing as per the requirements there and I will be looking to contribute to the team’s cause. I don’t keep goals of runs or hundreds because I feel that if you are chasing such goals then sometimes the mind runs ahead into the future. What I always want is to think about what is going on in this moment. I will look to give my best and will be happy when I can contribute to the team’s Test success. What kind of role does your coach play at this level? I practice with Pravin (Amre) sir. When you are practicing alone it is important that someone watches what you are doing. When you are working by yourself small, minor adjustments do creep in, into your batting and it is important that someone points those out to you. He has rarely told me anything about technique. He is always boosting me with positives. Hearing positive things from a coach gives you confidence which is important.

How do you approach vice-captaincy?

I am definitely excited about the role and looking forward to the tour to West Indies. This added responsibility will extract the best out of me because I like taking responsibilities. As a player, as a vice-captain you are constantly thinking about the game and want to be ready with alternatives and suggestions when the captain asks for your view. I won’t always be in the ear of the captain. When Virat asks me I should have an answer as to what can be done then. So it is definitely a new responsibility for me and a challenge I will definitely enjoy. What has been your approach to fielding? Fielding is a very important aspect. It is an aspect that you can control; it is in your hands. How you prepare is very important. When I was told that I would be fielding in the slips in Tests, I told our then fielding coach, R Sridhar that I want to take 100 catches everyday during practice. Even on the day of the match we will take 50 to 100 catches in the morning. I feel it is due to that practice that my focus increased and helped in my catching. Fitness has also helped. I focus a lot on running, agility, speed training and it has made a difference to my flexibility and agility. As you continue to move forward you have to work on the various aspects. It is better that you take responsibility and do what needs to be done rather than doing it after someone tells you. After all, you are representing your country and I always want to do better for my country and you don’t want to disappoint the fans who come to support you. Does Feroz Shah Kotla have special significance to you? The memories of Kotla will always remain with me because I made my Test debut there which wasn’t so memorable and then I played the fourth Test against South Africa there and scored a century in each innings and was as determined as I was in my debut game. I had come into the debut game after playing a lot of first-class cricket but maybe I was a more experienced player when I played the game against SA. I had a better idea about my game. I have also performed well in IPL at Kotla and I will enjoy it always. What is your one mantra in life? Be humble no matter what the situation; be respectful. It is important to stay humble; stay the same, because mentally if you are on same path through success or failures it will take you further ahead in life.