Veteran India Dinesh Karthik said that Ajinkya Rahane would be aware that he failed to use the chances in the recently concluded two-match Test series against the West Indies. Karthik added that while Rahane couldn’t leave a mark in the series, he should still retain his place in the Test side for their next red-ball assignment against South Africa in December as well.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said: “Ajinkya Rahane had a very ordinary series. You got to understand he had a really good WTC final, hence was picked and also nominated as vice-captain of the series. A lot of surprises there because you could see there was a lot of talk about how come he has been made vice-captain, but that didn’t matter to Ajinkya Rahane. He got two opportunities with the bat, and on both occasions, he was found wanting.”
“Yes, these are tough pitches and sometimes it can be a tough series as well, but the thing with Ajinkya Rahane over a period of time has been consistency,” he further added. “That’s why he lost his place in the team. He would know he didn’t make the series count. But he is the kind of player who you think should be on the flight to South Africa because, in those big moments, you get the feeling that he will make it count.”
READ MORE: Sanjay Manjrekar dissects Virat Kohli’s poor show in WTC Final
However, there were high expectations from Ajinkya Rahane after he became one of the top performers for the Indian team in the World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final last month as well but he failed to do well. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik applauded Ravichandran Ashwin after his exceptional performances in the West Indies Test series.
He shared: “Quite a comeback after being left out of in the WTC final. We have spoken a lot about him. A man of steel, done brilliant things in the series. Also, it takes a lot of mental effort, courage, grit, and determination to come out there in the series and do what he has done. Phenomenal effort yet again by Ravichandran Ashwin.”
READ MORE: Harbhajan Singh says Australia have the upperhand in the WTC final
“He has been such a potent bowler in domestic cricket, but when it comes to international cricket, he has got his opportunity now. He did pretty decently in Bangladesh, but in this series, he has not been a patch of what he has been in the recent past,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.
