Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the remaining three Tests as stand-in captain after Virat Kohli heads home after the conclusion of the first test to attend the birth of 1st child.
Although there’s been plenty of discussion regarding the topic, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels there won’t be as much pressure on the team’s stand-in captain.
Ajinkya Rahane Not Under Pressure For Leading India To Victory Both Times In 2 Matches Captained: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar’s confidence is due to Ajinkya Rahane’s Indian captaincy record. He has filled in when the captaincy spot felt vacant two times in the past for Virat Kohli and both times India has produced winning results.
He first led India in the fourth Test of the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home in Dharamsala after Virat Kohli was ruled out with a shoulder injury. With the series tied at 1-1, Ajinkya Rahane led India to an eight-wicket win to seal the series 2-1.
“There is no real pressure on Ajinkya Rahane, because both the times that he has led the team, he has won. He led against Australia at Dharamshala and India won. He led against Afghanistan and India won. So, as far as his captaincy is concerned, there is going to be no pressure,” Sunil Gavaskar said on the show GAME PLAN on Star Sports.
Ajinkya Rahane also led India against Afghanistan where the team won by an innings and 262 runs. He averages 42.89 in 65 tests.
Ajinkya Rahane Is Backed By Sunil Gavaskar To Do Captaincy Role Honestly
Sunil Gavaskar backs Ajinkya Rahane to lead the team in the same way like he bats at middle order while adding he is unsure about the batsman not taking much load knowing he’ll be India’s stand-in captain.
“He knows he is at the moment, only the stand-in captain for the 3 Test matches. So, I don’t think the fact about being a captain or carrying on as captain is going to be part of his thinking at all. He will do the job as honestly as he plays his cricket, which means, as a batsman, he will go out there and try and let Pujara try and grind the opposition in and play few more shots maybe,” Gavaskar explained.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the silver lining scoring 521 runs in India’s past historic 2018-19 tour where the team clinched a 2-1 victory- their maiden one Down Under. Both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will have to score big runs if India are to win Test series in Virat Kohli’s absence.