“I remember Ben Stokes advising me” – Ajinkya Rahane recalls vital life advice from IPL 2017 after retirement

Former Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane opened up on how he dealt with social media and the advice he received from former England all-rounder Ben Stokes during their time in the 2017 IPL season. Rahane recently retired from all forms of cricket after a 13-year international career.

The 38-year-old revealed that turning off all his social media apps went a long way in helping him perform in away tours. Rahane further mentioned that a set daily routine helped him stay away from social media during his playing career.

When asked about how he dealt with social media on the Overlap Cricket YouTube channel, Rahane said (44:25):

“I delete all the social media apps when the series is on. But no one advises us to, and that’s just my own advice to myself. I remember Ben Stokes advising me not to see social media in 2017 when we played together in the IPL. Creating a routine helped me individually deal with this once I am in my room. Just things like watching something on Netflix or some other app, reading a book, chatting to family, and ironing my clothes for the next day.”

He added:

“I have my team who manage everything. Whatever I’ve to post, I generally send them the photo, and if there is anything to be approved, they’ll send it to me. This really helped me a lot on tours. There is a temptation to log in to these apps when you have done well and see all the comments. But that’s just temporary; what people talk about you.”

Rahane finished his international career with over 8,000 runs and 15 centuries in 195 matches.

“When his door was shut, no one was allowed” – Ajinkya Rahane on MS Dhoni

Ajinkya Rahane hailed former Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s personality and his ability to be inclusive with everyone in the team. However, the former batter revealed that as welcoming as Dhoni was, with his room door open most times, he was clear on not wanting to be disturbed when the door was closed.

“He’s (MS Dhoni) very calm and cool and just a very normal human being like everyone. His room was almost always open for anyone to do anything. So many times, 10 to 15 of them or even the whole team was in his room. But when his door was shut, no one was allowed,” said Rahane (via the aforementioned source).

Rahane made his Team India debut in all three formats under Dhoni and also played under the legendary wicketkeeper for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2023 and 2024.