IND vs AFG 2018: Afghanistan Test will test Rahane's character, feels Sourav Ganguly

Afghanistan is currently playing India in Bengaluru.

Rahane is leading India against Afghanistan in Bengaluru. (AFP)

Former Indian Captain, Sourav Ganguly feel its a crucial test of character for Ajinkya Rahane who is the interim captain for India against Afghanistan in the one-off Test.  Afghanistan became the  12th nation to play Test cricket after Ireland who debuted against Pakistan earlier this month.

The former Indian skipper wrote in the column of TOI, "He (Rahane) must be thoughtful after the roller-coaster ride he has had. After being left out of the first two Test matches in South Africa, he came back to play a crucial role in the win in the third match there, and now in the next Test, he is the captain. He must be thinking, 'what is my right status as a cricketer'? He has to push all these thoughts out of the way and score runs, which will solve everything. He needs to remember that players go through this in their career; this is a small crisis and he needs to focus, keep it simple, bite the bullet, and just score runs."

However, the Test match has already begun with India opting to bat first. Sourav Ganguly also opened up on his thoughts for Afghanistan making their Test cricket debut. Ganguly feels that the debutants will realize that this is the best and the biggest, the one that separates the men from the boys. He added, "The Afghan cricketers have already played a few formats of the game but they will realize that this is the best and the biggest, the one that separates the men from the boys. There is talent in Afghanistan cricket, with the exploits of Rashid Khan already being a big talking point, and I am sure that all of them are looking forward to making a mark in Test cricket. This is a historic moment for their country, and they should feel happy that they are starting off against one of the top teams of the game, because it is always best to test oneself against the best in the business."

"If I were an Afghan cricketer, I would like to see this as an opportunity. There is a very fine line between pressure and opportunity and the Afghan boys should tread the path of opportunity to test themselves out on the big stage", Ganguly concluded.

 

 
 

By Kunal Kataria - 14 Jun, 2018

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