"I'm still young and there's a lot of cricket left in me. In the last one year or so, I've worked a lot on my fitness," Rahane said after rain cut short India's training session for a second day in a row at Windsor Park. "There were a few points in my batting that I've worked on. I'm enjoying my cricket a lot, enjoying my batting. I'm not thinking too much into the future. Every game is important, personally and also from the team point of view. I'm focusing on just that."

Since being left out of the Test side in February 2022, Rahane has focused on deriving joy out of the game without setting any expectations. He captained Mumbai across formats in the 2022-23 domestic season, leading them to the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title, while also throwing in some compelling performances with the bat.

In all first-class cricket since September 2022 until February this year, he scored 884 runs in 16 innings with three hundreds and a half-century at 58.93. The numbers, excellent though not world beating, were a sign that he had kept himself in the hunt should a spot open up.

As it turned out, India needed experience for the WTC final in Shreyas Iyer's absence. And when Rahane got the call, he was batting in the manner few expected him to in the IPL, going from an anchor to a full-blown boundary-hitter.

"Nothing has changed," Rahane insisted when asked of this latest turn in his career. "CSK gave me a role, and you try to fulfil that role. Prior to that, my role was of an anchor, [and] I played according to that. CSK told me, 'You have freedom, go out and play according to that'. I'm actually a stroke-maker, I always look for runs. The role has changed, nothing else has changed. I've always said I'll fulfil the role the team gives me. That's what I'm focusing on."

"The role Rohit gives me, I'll fulfil that. Playing under Rohit is great," Rahane said. "He gives freedom to the players, and then backs them. They're signs of a great captain. I'm feeling good. We share a great equation. I'm used to this role [as vice-captain]. I did the job for almost five years, but I'm really happy to be back in the team. Really happy to be back as vice-captain."

Having been a part of the reserves for the WTC final, Jaiswal has now been given an elevation into the main squad. It's likely he will be handed a cap to slot in either at the top or at one drop in place of Cheteshwar Pujara.

"I'm really happy for him. He's an exciting talent," Rahane said. "He's done really well for Mumbai, [and] did well in the IPL. Most important [is] the way he's batting in red-ball cricket. His record is good, he did well in the Duleep Trophy last year and for Mumbai as well. My message will be to just go out there and express himself the way he's batting, and not think too much about [the stage of] international cricket. It's about going in the middle and playing with freedom."

"Siraj is there as a senior bowler, [and] Jaydev has a lot of experience. The other two guys [Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini] are pretty much experienced, so it's an opportunity," Rahane said. "[Mohammed] Shami is our senior bowler who has really done well for us, but with a long season ahead, need to give him a rest as well.

"At the same time, we are not underestimating West Indies. We don't know what people are saying on the outside, but we are definitely not taking them lightly. Their performance at home in Tests has been good in the last one to two years. We've had good preparation in Barbados before coming in, so we're well covered. It's all about starting well now."