ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Ajinkya Rahane Feels 'Special' In England. This Is Why

India batsman Ajinkya Rahane is so excited to be in England again, especially at the Lord's cricket ground where he scored his second Test hundred in 2014 against the home team. The Lord's cricket ground's honours board etches the name of the player who scores a century or takes more than five wickets in an innings. Speaking to BCCI.TV, the right handed batsman got nostalgic and shared how he felt after seeing his name on the famous board again.

"My first reaction was to look up my name on the board and felt so happy to see my name there alongside such great names like Rahul bhai (Dravid), Dilip Vengsarkar and so many players," he said.

"It feels really good to be back in Lord's. Got some good memories of this ground, especially winning the Test match here after a long time and getting a hundred on a winning side was very special for me. Getting my name on the board is special," he added.

The Indian cricket team will play New Zealand in their first warm-up match at Kennington Oval and then Bangladesh at Edgbaston on Tuesday, before clashing against the arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4 in the tournament proper.

Rahane said the team was ready for the tournament and had a fantastic first practice session.

"The mood has been really good. We had a fantastic first practice session here. Guys were looking forward for this session because many of them were playing for the first time on this ground. You get such a great feeling when you play here. Looking forward to play some good cricket in the Champions Trophy," Rahane said.