Former India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on July 30. A week later, he signed for Amsterdam Flames as a marquee player for the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL). The tournament will run from August 26 to September 20 and will be staged across Dublin, Ireland, and The Hague, Netherlands.ย
Meanwhile, after signing for the franchise, Rahane revealed that the opportunity arrived immediately after he announced his retirement from international cricket late last month and said a personal approach from Amsterdam Flames co-owner Steve Waugh convinced him to take up the offer.
โIt’s a great opportunity for me. When I announced my retirement… I think the same day this opportunity came up. I took a day to probably think through it. (Flames co-owner) Steve (Waugh), personally, called me and asked me about if I’m interested to play for his team,โ Rahane said.ย
โThe amount of experience I have, the amount of cricket I have played for so many years with a certain attitude, certain mindset, I thought it’s a great opportunity for me to go out there, probably create an impact globally. Share my experience with other players. So I’m really looking forward to this stint with the ETPL,โ he added.ย
Importance of ETPL
Rahane said the league could play an important role in the development of cricket across Europe, pointing to the progress made by Ireland and the Netherlands in recent years and the value of regular exposure against experienced international players.
โSee, if you see European teams, you see Ireland, you see Netherlands… and Ireland recently won the series against India. Netherlands, again, on and off, they’ve been doing really well. I played many matches with them, obviously, the World Cup games. The passion which they have for cricket is amazing, their hunger to learn, hunger to get better as a team is amazing,โ the veteran cricketer said.ย
He added that opportunities to share dressing rooms with internationally renowned cricketers and coaches could accelerate the growth of European players.
“This (ETPL) gives them that exposure to play with different players, play with international players. When you play with international players, individually, they learn a lot. That’s why I said, this is a great platform for them. And I’m personally really looking forward to going out there, sharing my experience and creating that impact,โ Rahane further added.ย
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