Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta said that India Test team vice-captain, Ajinkya Rahane, is “not the same player” he was five-six years ago when he smashed centuries at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium while batting at No. 3. However, Rahane failed to leave an impact in the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand, where he managed 49 and 15 and India faced an eight-wicket defeat as well.

However, India will now play a five-match Test series against the hosts England in August-September. He also felt that the reverse swing was troubling him.

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“I don’t think Rahane is the same player that he was. In 2015-16, Rahane was unbelievable. He was a player that I saw playing for Mumbai. The Wankhede pitch on the first morning was moist, the pitch had grass and it was a nightmare batting there those days. But Rahane scored more than 4000-4500 runs before playing for India, batting predominantly at No.3 position,” said Deep Dasgupta on his YouTube channel on Saturday.

“When you bat in India, your skill set changes. You play swing and pace outside but here (England) you need to play reverse swing. If you go and check Rahane’s footwork in 2015-16, you will realise that (now) his footwork is not that definite. He is very tentative in his first 20 balls and whenever he plays a big innings, he is a lot more confident,” Deep Dasgupta further added.

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However, Team India is currently on a break after losing the WTC final to New Zealand as well. They will take on England in August and the warm-up match will begin on July 20 for the preparation of the five-match Test series as well. On the other hand, the second-string Indian team will play three One Day Internationals and as many Twenty20 International matches against Sri Lanka this month as well.