Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir opined that Ajinkya Rahane is pretty fortunate to still be a part of the Indian Test unit despite not being in the best of form in the last three years. In Virat Kohli’s absence, Rahane will be leading the hosts in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, before Kohli takes over from the second Test.
Ajinkya Rahane scored just two centuries for the Test side since October 2019 and has been struggling to get among runs for a while. Despite leading the side to a famous series win Down Under earlier this year, his position has been long under threat.
”Rahane is pretty fortunate that he’s still part of this side because he’s leading. But again, he’s got another opportunity now, hopefully, he can make that count,”
Gambhir said on Star Sports.
The burden seems to be adding up on Rahane, who has another bad news from an injury front. With Rohit Sharma rested and Kohli yet to join the team, KL Rahul was expected to be the main presence in the top order, but a muscle strain will keep the PBKS skipper out of this series. Suryakumar Yadav has been named as a replacement.
Rahane has scored just in excess of 600 runs since the start of the Australia tour in December 2020, where he played 13 Tests for the side. This run of form includes one century and two half-centuries, and he averages around 25. The numbers have remained concerning for a while, but he seems to be having the backing of his new coach Rahul Dravid, who was also his mentor during his IPL days with Rajasthan Royals.
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Having won the T20I series 3-0, India became the first team to whitewash New Zealand in a series home and away (5-0 win in New Zealand in the T20I series in 2020). India will play 2 Tests in Kanpur and Mumbai, before shifting their attention to visiting South Africa, where they will play three Tests.
South Africa has not been a happy hunting ground for India for a major period of time, and with India’s current form, the expectation would be for the side to do well. It’ll be interesting to see if Rahane can keep his place in the side until then.
