Ajinkya Rahane, who returned to his Dadar home on January 20, was received in his neighbourhood with a ‘kangaroo cake’, which Rahane refused to cut.
India’s winning captain for the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series Ajinkya Rahane is happy and content with the way team outplayed the mighty opponents 2-1 in the series. The seasoned cricketer, who had refused to cut a series-winning celebration cake with Kangaroo on it in Mumbai, clarified that one should respect the opponents even after ‘historic wins’.
“Kangaroo is their (Australian) national animal and I don’t want to do that. You treat your opposition, you give them respect even if you win, even if you create history. That’s fine. You have to have that respect for the opponents and other countries. That’s why I took that decision not to cut that cake,” Rahane told cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle in an interview.
Rahane, who returned to his Dadar home on January 20, was received in his neighbourhood with a ‘kangaroo cake’, which Rahane refused to cut. The video of the incident went viral on social media. Cricket fans and experts hailed Rahane for his move as the kangaroo is a symbol of Australia, appears on the Australian coat of arms and on some of its currency and is used as a logo for some of Australia’s most well-known organisations.
The Indian cricket team-led by Virat Kohli with Ajinkya Rahane as his deputy will take on England in the first of the four Tests in Chennai from February 5.
On the question of being the incharge of the victorious side for a short span Rahane said,”That phase is over and I am no longer the captain. I am focusing on the Test match against England now. Whatever happened, that’s history now, that’s gone. So let’s move on and focus on our next assignment.”
Rahane’s leadership was also applauded when he decided to present a signed jersey to veteran Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon completing his 100th Tests at Gabba, Brisbane.
Two weeks after the match, Nathan Lyon took to Instagram and thanked the Indian team for the gesture, “A massive congratulations to @ajinkyarahane and team India on the series win! Thank you also for your sportsmanship and the incredibly kind gesture of a signed Team India shirt. It will be a great addition to the man cave.”
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