Ajinkya Rahane, stand-in skipper will also be expected to take his catches in the slip region apart from leading Indian team in the remaining three Border-Gavaskar Tests and performing with the bat.
That was pointed out by former India player Pravin Amre during an interaction with Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu on SK Live.
Ajinkya Rahane Is A Sound Slip Fielder Which Shows In His Preparations: Pravin Amre
The role of Ajinkya Rahane, arguably India’s safest slip fielder since Rahul Dravid retired, in the slip cordon becomes all the more significant in the wake of India’s horror show in Adelaide where they were bundled for 36, their lowest Test score ever registered.
Speaking about Ajinkya Rahane’s prowess as a slip fieldsman, former India batsman Pravin Amre attributed his success to relentless practice in the nets.
In the Facebook interaction, Parvin Amre said that one need to see Ajinkya Rahane’s practice sessions to understand why he is such a safe slip fielder, saying in this regard: “(It’s all due to) His preparations. You should also see his practice sessions. How many catches he takes.”
The 52-year-old further elaborated that as every Indian bowler is different, Ajinkya Rahane adopts a different ‘catching’ method for every bowler, which explains why the stand-in captain is such a prolific catcher.
Parvin Amre said in this regard: “Every bowler in Team India is different. Taking a catch against Jadeja is different, and taking a catch against Ashwin is different. That is what I think he has learned from his role model Rahul Dravid.”
Rahul Dravid holds the record for most catches by a fielder in Test history with 210 catches in 164 matches. Ajinkya Rahane has taken 83 catches in 66 Test appearances.
Ajinkya Rahane Carrying Forward Legacy Of Rahul Dravid: Pravin Amre
Reminding that Ajinkya Rahane holds the record of taking the most catches in a Test by a non-wicketkeeper as he took eight against Sri Lanka in Galle 2015, the former Mumbai batsman opined that the Test stand-in skipper is carrying on the legacy of Rahul Dravid.
Amre said in this regard:“I think he is following Rahul Dravid footsteps. He is as safe as Dravid in the slip cordon, which is very important.”
Before signing off, Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs, concluded by saying: “We want his runs as well as his catches.”
Heading into the Boxing Day 2nd Test in Melbourne, he has scored 4245 runs in 66 matches at an average of 42.45 with 11 hundreds and 22 fifties.
India are 0-1 down in the ongoing four-match Test series after getting hammered by eight wickets in the Adelaide opener. In that game, Ajinkya Rahane made 42 in the first innings but was responsible for running out Virat Kohli which, according to many experts, was one of the turning points of the 1st day-night Test.
In the second innings, he was dismissed without scoring as India crumbled to 36 all out with Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins sharing 9 wickets. As captain, he has the unenviable task of lifting India out of dire straits and despair.