India has always been in trouble for a No. 4 batsman who could handle the pressure as well as build up the innings. Several batsmen have been tried and dropped. Ajinkya Rahane was also the No.4 batsman in ODIs who was dropped in 2018 after a series of low scores. Well, the renowned commentator and former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Rahane should be given another chance.
India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has played in 90 ODIs and scored 2962 runs at an average of 35.26. He was dropped from the 50-over format after having a series of low scores against South Africa. But before that series, he had scored four consecutive half-centuries against Australia at home.
Ajinkya Rahane was removed like a fly from milk: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra reflects on Rahane’s ODI stats and showed his displeasure to drop the Mumbai player. He expresses it’s unfair to drop an experienced player just like a fly is removed from milk.
“His numbers at No. 4 were good. And at number 4, if you are giving good performances, consistently playing well and strike rate is also around 94, then why are you not giving him more chances? He was dropped all of a sudden, just like you remove a fly from milk. Why was something like that done? I feel he was hard done by,” Chopra said while answering viewers’ questions on his YouTube channel.
Further, the former Test opener backed Rahane for his comeback, saying that he has the experience to build innings and would have fitted in the team.
“If India had become like England, that they will score 350 in every match, that is the only way they will play, whether it goes their way of not. We didn’t do like that. We still play cricket in the traditional orthodox way. We still build the innings and pick a team that can score around 325, so Ajinkya Rahane would have fitted in that,” he concluded.
However, Rahane is a mainstay for India in the Test format. He has, so far, played 65 Tests and scored 4203 runs. The middle-order batsman last played for India in the away Test series against New Zealand.