Former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha has backed stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane to do a good job as captain in Virat Kohli’s absence in the remainder of the four-Test series in Australia.
He further pointed out that Rahane is someone who believes that his action speaks louder than words as the stand-in captain doesn't believe in talking too much on the field and a former Indian spinner said people should continue him with his style.
As Kohli has already headed back home on paternity leave, Rahane will captain India in the remaining three Tests of the ongoing Test series starting from the Boxing Day Test on December 26 at MCG.
The Mumbai batsman has so far captained India in 2 Tests in the past, and this time, he will face an uphill task as the Indian cricket team will also be without the injured Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma and most importantly coming from massive thrashing in the series-opening Pink-ball Test.
Well, Team India is now desperate to make a comeback in the ongoing Test series and Ojha is confident that Rahane will do a fine job as captain, saying he is a “top-notch leader” and doesn’t need to change anything about his style of captaincy.
Ojha told Sports Today YouTube: “India is in a corner now. This is the time... I see it this way. A lot of things have gone against India….Virat Kohli is not there, Ishant and Shami are injured, Rohit Sharma is still not available. The pressure of defending the trophy is going away from you. Now you can play cricket freely.”
He further added, “Rahane, if you look at his hard work, ethics, everything is spot on. The only thing is that he never speaks but that is his strength. He is someone who believes that his action speaks louder than words. I am very confident he will do well, Ajinkya as a leader is top-notch.”
Meanwhile, former India wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta also backed Rahane to do a fine job on the field as captain in the ongoing Test series against Australia.
Dasgupta further noted, “I think he is a really good captain. Again, he doesn't talk a lot but even MS Dhoni didn't talk a lot. That doesn't make him any less a captain.”
He also claimed India’s worst Test total doesn’t define the team’s ability saying the tourists must put behind the 36-all out and show the world what they are in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Dasgupta signed off by saying, “Most of us now are thinking about that 36 right? That's not what our Indian team is all about. The Indian team is not that 36. It's the other sessions, it's the 2018-19 series that India won... that's this Indian team. The way these guys have been playing in the last 3, 5 years or before that. The 36 is not the Indian team that we know. Let's not say comeback, let's ask 'can they play to their potential?'. They will, they should.”
(With India Today Inputs)
