Sridhar revealed an incident on Australia tour which showed how tough a captain Rahane was.
India came back from being 36 all-out in the Adelaide Test and the departure of captain Virat Kohli, to win the MCG Test in which captain Rahane scored a century, drew a tough match in Sydney thanks to Pujara, Pant, Vihari, and Ashwin, and then won the series decider in Gabba, Brisbane, thanks to brilliant batting by Gill and Pant and a fifer by Mohammed Siraj.
In his book 'Coaching Beyond', former India fielding coach R Sridhar weighed in on Rahane's captaincy, explaining how the batter, by no means, is an unauthoritative leader. Rahane was not as aggressive as Virat Kohli; neither was he as calm as MS Dhoni.
Sridhar recalled an incident where Prithvi Shaw was fielding at short-leg in a warm-up game and was hit and wanted to go back into the dressing room.
“Make no mistake; Ajinkya was not a weak character. There was this incident when Prithvi Shaw was fielding at short leg in a warm-up game in Drummoyne, Sydney. The batter went for a sweep and Prithvi got smacked. As he tried to limp off the park towards the dressing room, Ajinkya was quickly on his case. From his position at slip, he had clearly seen exactly where Prithvi had been hit, which was on the shin pad," he wrote in his book.
Rahane caught Shaw’s bluff and firmly told him to return to the fielding position and also told the other players that he will not tolerate any shenanigans from anyone. Sridhar also wrote that since only 11 players were playing that game, he was supposed to be the substitute fielder if anyone was injured.
"Rahane went up to him and said firmly, 'Don't take one more step. No one will replace you on the field. I know nothing's wrong with you, I saw the ball hit you on your shin pad. Maybe you were waiting for an opportunity to go back inside, but that's not happening. Go back to short leg and get into position'. Prithvi knew his bluff had been called and subtly, Ajinkya had told the rest that he would brook no shenanigans. I was mightily relieved as I was the one slated to go in as substitute as we had only XI for that game,” Sridhar added.
Between 2017 and 2021, Rahane captained India in six Tests, winning four and drawing two. He hasn't lost a single Test as India's captain and his win percentage as captain is 66.66.
Sridhar pointed out how Rahane rubbed everyone in the right manner and rued the fact that his captaincy remains underrated.
"Ajinkya can be firm when he has to be without being harsh, which is why India have such a good record under him. he has led the team in four Tests against Australia and India have won three of them, including two away from home. That's a fantastic record for someone who doesn't get to captain often, or in a string of games. He understands the game very well. He is very easy-going and approachable, and I got the sense that the senior players feel a greater sense of responsibility when he is the captain; they start chipping in more," mentioned Sridhar.
(Hindustan Times inputs)