I feel 2018 is going to be my year: Ajinkya Rahane

MUMBAI: The breakfast came to Ajinkya Rahane's table, a spread that can't be described the most mouthwatering fare. The Team India vice-captain did not even bother looking at it. He knew exactly how many egg whites were inside the food umbrella. He stared out of the window at the Bandra Kurla Complex cricket ground, at the pitch where he'd head soon after his fill. There was work to do. It was during that short breakfast break that he spoke with TOI. From the struggle he's faced to the preparation for South Africa and beyond, Rahane spelt his heart out…

Excerpts from an interview...
You've seen a rough patch lately. What's going on inside your mind?
My mind and heart tells me 2018 is going to be my year and I'm really confident about it. I've always maintained that be it cricket or life, I always prefer to remain in the present. So, while it's going to be a year of many challenges, the focus right now is on South Africa. Doing well there is right on the top of my mind. As far as the big picture is concerned, every day is a different day, every game is a different game.

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So, what's been central to your preparation for South Africa?

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When you talk about Test cricket, it's all about preparation. Take this tour of South Africa for example. Their home, their attack, their conditions - all of that have to be tackled, runs have to be put on board, 20 wickets have to be taken to win a game. That's what we have to go there and achieve, every day, every match throughout the series. But until then, we've got to prepare.

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There's a lot of talk already about the conditions that'll be on offer...
It's all about the mindset. We have to focus on the job at hand and just think like we're playing in India. In fact, this is how we've been approaching the tour - focusing on the series like this is going to be our home game. The amount of travel an international cricketer does these days, the lines are fast blurring between what is home and what is away. The important thing here is to respect the opposition. We respect South Africa but at the same time, we realize, if we want to win there, the first thing we need to do is express ourselves. It is important to play with the same kind of freedom that we've played over the last two years.

So, home & away debate doesn't matter...
In India, we play at a certain place and then we go back to that venue after two or three years. Every time we play at a certain venue, we are presented with a challenge to adapt to the conditions there. The same is with touring anywhere out. What's important is that we give equal respect to each game we play.

You've struggled for sure. How have you dealt with this struggle?
Look at it in a broader sense. This isn't just about someone playing cricket or any sport for that matter. In life, we go through ups and downs, fall and then get up again. We learn to deal with things as they come, work our way through the rough patches. How we deal with those phases is crucial. According to me, if you give some amount of importance to the success that you've achieved in life, the same amount of importance needs to be given to the failures that come your way. I don't take either of it very seriously, as long as I'm learning along the way.

So, what have you learnt?
This phase has actually taught me a lot, on and off the field on how I need to go about with my cricket from here, how to remain calm when things don't go your way. What I'm trying to do right now is to remind myself of the processes I followed when things were going my way and keep repeating them. Just make it a routine thing.

I've spoken to so many of my seniors over the course of time, during good phases and the times when I've struggled and the common aspect to whatever they shared with me was that there's nobody who's got away without getting a taste of failure. It happens with everyone. The challenge is in how you overcome it. It's about just one good innings.

The management has backed you too...
Yes, it feels so good to see how the team management has backed me all the way. Especially Virat, the coaches, the selectors ... As a player, I can't ask for more. When the whole team is behind you, you're never short on motivation. Runs will come, I don't need to worry about it too much.

Morkel, Philander, Rabada, Steyn and more. That's some attack...
South Africa in South Africa can be a very different, very tough experience. They know their home and how to make use of the conditions. We have to start the series well. That's very important. You need that momentum to be with you and it'll happen when we hit the right buttons in Cape Town.

India's attack has shaped up well too...
Our bowling unit has shaped up really well. We have great variety and the ability to pick 20 wickets. The best thing about this attack is they communicate really well.

What's the team thinking?
We know it better than anyone else that SA can't be taken lightly and neither can we afford to be over-confident. But we also know we're capable of winning Test matches anywhere in the world. The question is how we can implement what we understand or what we can potentially achieve. It's a long series and there are many such long series coming up. The challenge is to perform consistently over a period of time.

After the series against Sri Lanka ended, what did you do until your departure to SA?
A week ago, me and Pravin sir (Amre) started our preparations. I was coming from a poor patch and it was important for me to not keep thinking about it. That's precisely what I discussed with him (Amre). The other day I was just sitting by myself, thinking about what I used to do in such situations, when things didn't go my way. We just created those (match) situations and I got busy playing a game of virtual cricket inside my mind. (Points out to the centre pitch at BKC) I walk in there just keeping the opposition (SA) in mind, I try to remember what I remember of the attack that I'm going to face next month.

I've faced them before. I'm going to face them again. I've played in those conditions, what were they like? I scored runs, so what did I do that clicked. I was doing something right, so what was the style of play I adopted? I kept going through several such match situations inside my mind.

Can you elaborate on how you create those match situations?
I believe a lot in visualization. Even before I made my First Class debut, it was the same thing. I visualized myself playing for Mumbai, what I would do, how would I approach a certain attack or a certain match situation. I like to do that even today. When you tell your conscious mind something, your sub-conscious mind keeps tuning in. And then, your brain begins to assimilate all that it's gathering.

And then with Pravin Amre, you watched videos of some of your best innings...
Yes, after practice sessions, I would blank my mind once again and sit back afresh to watch my batting videos. That's something I've always done. I like to sit and watch, for instance, how did I pick a certain length, where exactly was my bat coming from, those kind of things.

You and Amre share a great connect. Can you tell us how it has helped you?
The connect began a long time ago, prior to my Under-19 days. We became closer when he was our Ranji team coach (Mumbai). I remember on one occasion, when I was going through a similar bad patch in First Class cricket and he called me. 'This is the time to work harder', he said. 'Every time you don't see something going your way, just raise the bar and put in twice the amount of effort', he said. I've only tried to follow that line all along. He always helped me remain grounded and in touch with reality. One of the major responsibilities of any coach is to keep telling the truth to the player about where his game is going and he's the kind of a person who tells it to you on your face. What he says in front of you is what he's going to say when you're not around. People like them are a boon.

Amre will know a thing or two about SA...
Oh yes. We've been working together on how to approach this SA tour. We've shared a lot of things. Before we (Team India) went to South Africa the last time, I remember, we did three or four days of practice sessions at the Bandra Kurla facility and recorded those sessions. We have videos of those preparations. This time again, we sat back and first went through those videos before hitting the field again. There were some adjustments required to better the whole process this time around but it's been worth it.

Culture of fitness in this team is visible...
It's a culture that we've adapted to. We realize there's a world of a difference between becoming the world's No. 1 team and staying there. Those are different levels. To jump from that one level to the other takes a lot more than just being good at your game. You need to be good at multiple levels if you want to remain among the best. Fitness of mind and body matters most. It requires discipline, sacrifice and more.

There's too much cricket already, so fitness is now a way of life...
We're playing so many formats simultaneously. We're playing throughout the year. There's already talk about balancing the recovery sessions with the training sessions. That balance is born out of a sense of culture. This kind of a thought process has been very helpful for us. Our aim is to win the 2019 World Cup. If that's what we want to achieve, then we need to consider this: Skill-wise, we're right up there with everyone else and in fact better. If we can reach the kind of fitness levels that raises the bar, then a kind of a machinery begins to fall in place. The mind becomes more focused and you benefit from clarity of thought.
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