Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have made a bright start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign; since facing an opening-day defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT), the CSK registered resounding back-to-back wins over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI). While Ruturaj Gaikwad has been a consistent performer, CSK’s spinners have been significantly better than their pace attack so far.
In the side’s previous game, however, surprisingly, Ajinkya Rahane, who had made his debut for CSK amassed 61 off just 27 deliveries as they were chasing 158 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. He smashed seven fours and three sixes en route to the knock. He isn’t particularly known for his big-hitting and there were questions over CSK’s decision to pick Rahane in the auction last year; however, it has been ‘so far, so good’ for the side.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who has worked closely with Rahane, expressed his delight at Rahane’s performance against MI and heaped massive praise on the senior batter.
ALSO READ: Ben Stokes focused on fulfilling his role in Ashes 2023
During a chat with ESPNCricinfo, Ravi Shastri said, “I loved Ajinkya Rahane’s innings. He was our captain in Australia, where I saw one of the greatest overseas hundreds by an Indian player. That will go right up with the very best, simply because of where India was at the start of the innings. He had taken over as captain, we were 36 all-out. On Boxing Day, to play like that, was fantastic. The timing, it was the purity of the innings was a treat to the eyes (against MI).”
He further added, “Lovely shots, I’m glad for him. He’s such a team man. He’s captained India, whichever franchise or team he plays for, he might not be captain but you can be rest assured, you won’t get a better team man. Even if it comes to carrying water, or in the dressing room, helping out someone. He’s a top-class example of the way the game should be played.”
ALSO READ: Sunil Gavaskar Expects MS Dhoni To Bat Up The Order
Rahane is currently out-of-favor with the Indian Test team, as he played his last game in January 2022. He was dropped following a series of inconsistent performances in Test cricket. Rahane is expected to return to action on Wednesday night when CSK take on Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.
