Health comes first for Rahane; won’t mind families not being there at IPL in UAE

The IPL is all set to be played from September 19 to November 8 in the UAE, a move forced by the rising COVID-19 cases in India.

Ajinkya Rahane would want his wife and daughter to be around during the IPL in the UAE but mindful of the risk it poses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he wouldn’t have an issue if the BCCI bars players’ families from the event. The IPL is all set to be played from September 19 to November 8 in the UAE, a move forced by the rising COVID-19 cases in India.

Rahane, who has changed base to Delhi Capitals from Rajasthan Royals, said health should be top priority. “As an individual, you take COVID-19 situation aside, you would want your family to travel with you, but because of this situation, safety is important, safety of your wife, family and daughter, obviously safety of your teammates is really important,” Rahane told India Today’s show ‘Inspiration’.

“Right now, I feel first health and then cricket is really important. We had a good 4-5 months with our family (during the lockdown).” Rahane said the decision to allow families to accompany players to the UAE lies with the BCCI and the franchise owners. “As I said, safety of our family, safety of our players and safety of each and every individual is important. The decision is completely up to the franchises and the BCCI.

“But as I said, there is still corona around, you got to think about each and every individual, think about your family especially about my wife and daughter. Safety is really important,” he said. Rahane moved to Delhi Capitals in the lead up to the upcoming IPL edition and the 32-year-old right-hander said he is looking forward to working with the “exciting bunch of players” and head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I am really excited to play for Delhi Capitals. I got an opportunity. Last year when I was playing for Hamphsire, Delhi Capitals asked me if I was interested in playing for them.

“I took my time and I thought it’s an opportunity for me to learn something new. To take my game forward, to take my T20 game forward,” he said.

“Obviously, Dada (Sourav Ganguly, who worked as the team’s mentor in IPL 2019) is not there, that time my focus was if I could play under Dada and Ricky Ponting I could learn many things. As a cricketer, that’s what you want,” he added.