India vs England 3rd Test: Ajinkya Rahane: "Pujara and me not concerned about criticism'

Headingley, August 23: India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday (August 23) said he was not too bothered about the constant scrutiny around his form in the longest format as people always talk about important players.

The first Test ended in a draw but India staged an incredible comeback to take the second game by 151 runs at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Both sides will now lock horns in the third Test, beginning Wednesday (August 25) at Headingley, Leeds.

Heading into the series, there was a lot of chatter around Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara's form. "I am happy people are talking about me, I always believe people talk about important people. I am not too concerned about that, it is all about contribution for the team.

"Cheteshwar and I have been playing for long, we know how to handle pressure and certain situations. We are not concerned about them, we are focusing on the team. We just want to contribute for the side, whatever we cannot control, we are not thinking about that," said Rahane during a virtual press conference.

In the second innings of the second Test, Rahane and Pujara shared a crucial 100 run stand and this helped India post a respectable score on the board.

"My innings was really satisfying in the second Test, I always believe in contributions and for me, I always think about the team. That knock of 61 in the Lord's Test was really satisfying. It was all about hanging in there, communication was all about thinking about small targets and building on from there.

"We always talk about Pujara playing slow, but his innings was really important, he batted for 200 balls. We backed each other, I thought communication was really good. We knew 170-180 could have been a very good score on that wicket," said Rahane.

"Everything motivates me, playing for country motivates me a lot. I am not bothered about criticism. People only criticise important people, I am happy they are criticising me, I only focus on controllables. Team performance is the ultimate goal, you think about your plans and methods, but ultimately it is all for the team. We just focus on that," he added.

Talking about the upcoming third Test, Rahane said: "2014 and 2018 is past now, we are not thinking about that. We are not taking it lightly, whatever happened in the last game was special but we have moved on and we are focused on the next Test.

We are taking it one match at a time, win or lose, it is important to stay in the present. We are confident about our unit, we have been playing some good cricket and it is about staying in the moment and focusing on the next match.

We are not thinking too much about the conditions and whatever Headingley has to offer. We just want to give our best, all players are in a good headspace and it is about putting our best foot forward," he added.