'Rahulbhai's compliments give me motivation and inspiration to do well and work harder'
'For me, the process is important, not the result'
India batsman Ajinkya Rahane thanked former captain Rahul Dravid for the encomiums showered on him, but insisted he cannot be compared to 'The Wall'.
"It is a big compliment coming from Rahulbhai. It gives me motivation and inspiration to do well and work harder. For me, the process is important, not the result.
"Over the last two years I have been doing that," said Rahane, at a promotional event for Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai in Friday.
On Thursday, Dravid had praised Rahane, saying: 'I feel that Rahane has been the most successful Indian Test batsman in the last one year. We played four overseas tours in the last one year and his performance was very good in all these four tours.
'Some players performed in one or two series, but Rahane was one player who performed well in all the four series.'
On being compared with Rajasthan Royals mentor Dravid, Rahane, who scored Test centuries in New Zealand, England and Australia, said: "There is always one wall, and there will always be one. I don't think I can take his place, but there is only one wall in India and that is Rahul Dravid!"
Talking about Royals' dip in form after a great start in IPL 8, where the face a do-or-die situation against title-holders Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne stadium on Saturday, Rahane said it is because of the nature of T20 cricket.
"In T20, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's important to play good cricket, and I feel we are doing that really well this year.
"It's just about one game; if we win this, we're through. So it's just about playing good cricket on (the) 16th. Throughout this season everyone has contributed really well and I'm sure everyone will do well on 16th," he said.
"We are not looking for any result. It's important to give your best on the field, it's important to follow the process. If we play our best cricket, I'm sure we will qualify," he added.
Asked about Thursday’s game at the Wankhede, when Mumbai Indians defeated Kolkata by five runs to keep their qualifying hopes alive, he replied: "KKR is a balanced team; every player is equally dangerous and important. We are not thinking too much about KKR, we are just looking to back our strengths.
"We focus on our game rather than what other teams are doing. The simpler you keep, the better it is for you. We watched how KKR played. We are prepared well for this, had a good session yesterday too."
