Ajinkya Rahane had failed with the bat against England in the four-match Test series at home.
India's vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will have to step up in the upcoming Test series against England. With a poor outing with the bat lately at home and unimpressive numbers in English conditions, Rahane will be under pressure to deliver.
Before the five-match Test series, India will also play the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand from June 18. Former India chief selector MSK Prasad has defended Rahane and said he's important for the side.
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Prasad backed India's Test vice-captain and said he comes to the rescue whenever the team is in trouble. "I think he is too good a player to start with. Of course, he has gone through lots of ups and downs (of late) but whenever the team has been in trouble, he rises to the occasion. He has that potential. The graph is a little up and down but I don’t foresee any drastic decision being taken by team management.
"He will come back strongly. He is a wonderful team-man and everybody likes him a lot. Whenever Virat hasn’t played a big innings, this man has stepped up. We must not forget how he delivered as a captain and a player in Australia when many seniors were absent," he told cricket.com.
"He is a proven player and his overseas record is far superior to many of the Indian players and maybe at home, he has struggled a bit. We should not be putting unnecessary pressure on him," Prasad added.
Prasad also lauded Cheteshwar Pujara, who also failed at home against England in the series earlier this year. He believes Pujara and Rahane are the "true soldiers" of the side in Test format.
"Again, We should not be putting unnecessary pressure on him. Someone like Rahane or Cheteshwar Pujara because they are true soldiers who have served Indian cricket wonderfully well for several years in the longer format. We should in fact back them.
"Such talents should never be sidelined as they are proven match-winners and complete players. Rahane is like a suicidal troop. He can go anywhere to bat for the team," he signed off.
Rahane has managed only 556 runs in 20 innings at England and Wales with an average of 29.26. He has smashed 4 half-centuries and a hundred.
(With Cricket.com Inputs)