Former Indian chief selector, MSK Prasad reckons that it’s unfair to put Ajinkya Rahane under pressure by talking about his recent performances in international cricket, saying the vice-captain is a wonderful team man. Prasad said Rahane has been a little inconsistent but stressed the team management will not be taking ‘any drastic decision’ when it comes to his place in the team.
Ajinkya Rahane is India’s leading run-scorer in the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship as he has amassed 1095 runs, including 3 centuries, in 17 matches. After hitting the heroic century in the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 2nd Test against Australia earlier this year, Ajinkya Rahane has had 4 single-digit scores and one fifty-plus score in 6 Tests.
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Talking about Rahane during a recent chat with cricket.com, MSK Prasad said, “I think he is too good a player to start with. Of course, he has gone through lots of ups and downs but whenever the team has been in trouble, he rises to the occasion. He has that potential. The graph is a little up and down but I don’t foresee any drastic decision being taken by team management. He will come back strongly. He is a wonderful team-man and everybody likes him a lot.”
He further elaborated, “Whenever Virat hasn’t played big innings, this man has stepped up. We must not forget how he delivered as a captain and a player in Australia when many seniors were absent. He is a proven player and his overseas record is far superior to many of the Indian players and maybe at home, he has struggled a bit. We should not be putting unnecessary pressure on him.”
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The Indian team reached Southampton on June 3, 2 weeks ahead of the World Test Championship. The players are in managed isolation at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. They have started training individually at the ground earlier this week. The visitors will have more than a month’s gap between the WTC final and the first Test against England, starting August 4.
