India, Oct. 25 -- It must feel good to be experienced - battle-hardened, not battle-scarred. Having endured the ups and downs that come with a long career in whites, nothing should faze you. Catch Ajinkya Rahane in an honest-to-fault mood and he might admit, as a senior pro, he felt the pressure.

His last Test was back in July 2023. The former India captain chose to grind it out in domestic cricket at nondescript grounds in the absence of crowds and other trappings of international cricket. In this journey, the 37-year-old led Mumbai astutely to the Ranji title in 2023-24.

But his runs dried up. He had only 214 runs to show in 13 innings that year. The next year, he made 467 runs. Better in comparison, but not even half of what season t...