Former Australian head coach Justin Langer spoke about the role of legendary Steve Waugh in bringing a calm and composed approach to India’s comeback man Ajinkya Rahane during his tour 2021 /22 Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia, where he lead the young Indian team to defend the BGT Trophy in Australian soil.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Justin Langer revealed that Ajinkya Rahane worked alongside legendary Steve Waugh during the India tour of Australia in 2021, where he guided the Indian veteran before the series, which has come good for the Indian team winning back-to-back series on Australian soil.
Speaking on air, Justin Langer divulged that Steve Waugh called him about his involvement alongside Rahane during BGT 2021-22, as the legend of the baggy green called him then the Australian head coach (Justin Langer) during that time, where Waugh said that he is doing a bit of mentoring the Indian veteran leading into the series.
“Before the series started Steve Waugh, my hero, rang me and said I was going to be transparent. I wanna be honest I’m having some conversations with Rahane…doing a bit of mentoring him leading to that series,” Justin Langer said on air.
“Not Steve Waugh, the iceman and we saw that calmness in Rahane, we saw the way he played in that series and when I knew he was talking to Steve, it was red flags for me,” Langer added.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21 was one of Team India’s biggest achievements in Test cricket. After being bowled out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide, they won the series 2-1 under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane. Several youngsters proved their worth at the highest level with Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, T Natarajan, and Shardul Thakur producing some important performances for their side.
Ajinkya Rahane was the highest run-getter for the Indian team in the 1st innings of the game against Australia as he scored 89 runs forming a vital partnership alongside Shardul Thakur in the lower-middle order as they shared 109 runs for the 7th wicket to give the Indian side a real chance to make come back into the side.
The 35-year-old made a comeback into the side after being dropped for his underwhelming performances for the Indian team in 2021-22. The Indian veteran was brilliant with the bat for Chennai Super Kings in the recently concluded IPL 2023, where he played a pivotal team for the side in their title-winning campaign in the 2023 season.
Before impressing in the IPL, the batting star had topped the run-scoring chart for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 634 runs at 57.63 including two centuries.