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Will Celebrate Wickets With Namaste: Rahane on Cricket Post COVID

Will celebrate wickets with a ‘Namaste’ now, says Ajinkya Rahane talking about the sport in the post COVID era.

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He should be playing his first season with IPL franchise Delhi Capitals right now but instead, Ajinkya Rahane has been house-bound for the last 6 weeks, much like the rest of the country.

Coronavirus has put most lives and careers at a standstill and the Indian Test vice-captain is no different. Only, there is a silver lining to all this for him as he gets to spend time with his 7-month-old daughter Aarya.

‘During this lockdown, I’ve made my routine. I wake up early in the morning and finish my work out before my daughter wakes up. Staying fit is really important. I’m obviously also helping my wife with cleaning or cooking and taking care of my daughter. I think one of the positives during this lockdown is that I’m getting time with my daughter,’ says the 31-year-old on a press conference on Zoom as he’s named the brand ambassador of Elsa, an Edu-tech company.

He, however, has managed to find time to pick up an old hobby as well. ‘Another thing which Ive started doing is my karate. I used to do karate long time back. I’m a black belt in judo so I’ve just practising that, slowly slowly, 3 or 4 days a week,’ said Rahane.

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A Changed Cricket World?

The first week of March was when Rahane played for India last, during the home Test series against New Zealand. The Indian team then moved into a limited-overs series against New Zealand when the nationwide lockdown forced the T20 series to be abandoned in Lucknow.

The IPL was set to start on 29 March but that too has been postponed indefinitely, along with all other cricket series across the world. While Cricket Australia has started charting the roadmap for a return of the sport, the BCCI have remained silent considering the constantly growing number of positive cases in the country.

But when cricket does resume, it will be very long before it is played the way it was just months back. Players will need to be tested before every series, possibly even quarantined for two weeks at the start of a foreign tour.

So, what changes does Ajinkya foresee?

‘Now, celebrating wickets will be like ‘namaste’ or something else. You cannot take anything for granted now. I don’t know if anything will change on cricket field but outside, safety and social distancing. Celebrating wickets will go back to the old style now. Just stay on your own spot and just clap from there and celebrate the wicket,’ he said.

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Smith or Virat?

Among just a handful of cricketers who have played with both Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, Rahane was also put on the spot by being asked to share his experience of batting alongside the two stars.

Rahane explained that both Smith and Kohli -- currently ranked No.1 and No.2 respectively in the ICC Test rankings -- are excellent batsmen but their approach to the game is very different.

"They both are very good players. Virat's style is very different... Steve's style is completely different. They approach the game very differently”

"They both are very good players of spin as well as fast-bowling. Really enjoyed batting with Steve at Rajasthan Royals. It's always fun batting with Virat. We enjoy each other's company. We enjoy each other's success as well. The communication between us is really good and we trust each other while batting together," he said.

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(With inputs from IANS)

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Topics:  Ajinkya Rahane 

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