Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid had once calmed down anxious Ajinkya Rahane when he was waiting to get selected in the Indian team, the India Test vice-captain recalled in an interview.

Rahane, who is currently in England and preparing to play the first-ever World Test Championships finals against New Zealand starting June 18, recalled his interaction with Dravid during a Duleep Trophy final in 2008-09 and said that the latter’s advice had ‘motivated’ and ‘inspired’ him. 

“I remember in a Duleep Trophy final, we were playing against South Zone in 2008-09 and Rahul Dravid was playing in it in Chennai. I got runs in that game – 165 and 98. Rahul bhai called me up after the game and said, I’ve read about you a lot, you are scoring a lot of runs,” Rahane told former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta during an interview with ESPNCricinfo. 

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Dravid further told Rahane, “As a player, it is very natural that you will start expecting an India call-up. All I would tell you is to keep on doing what you’ve been doing.” 

“You keep focussing on that and India call-up will come automatically. Don’t run after it, it will follow you,” Dravid told Rahane, the latter said, and added that the “advice from someone like Rahul bhai really motivated me a lot. That inspired me a lot. “

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Rahane explained how he was anxious after not getting called up for India after scoring heaps of runs in first-class cricket. The 33-year-old made his debut in ODI in 2011. 

“I got another thousand runs next seasons and two years after that, I was selected.”