Ajinkya Rahane has been Virat Kohli’s deputy in Test cricket for some years now. The Mumbai batsman has also got an opportunity to lead the national side in the longest format when Kohli sustained a shoulder injury in March 2017.
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In that Test match against Australia at Dharamsala, Rahane impressed one and all with his leadership qualities as he scripted a series-clinching eight-wicket victory for India.
While Rahane hasn’t got a chance to show his captaincy skills after that in red-ball cricket, he does get involved in the tactical side of the game when skipper Kohli approaches him.
“I don’t try to get too involved,” Rahane told former wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta in a chat on ESPNCricinfo.
“I have to be ready with plans. You need to analyse and read into match situations. If the need arises, I do voice my opinion straight away but importantly, when Virat asks me what needs to be done, I have to be ready with the answers.”
Rahane hasn't played for India in white-ball cricket since the 2018 tour of South Africa and wasn't considered for the World Cup in UK last year.
The Test vice-captain's range in limited-overs cricket has been in doubt, with other opening and middle-order options offering India more.
“It is very difficult to open the innings after you have been batting at No 4 for a while. It is hard to say what my best position is, though,” the 32-year-old said.
“I don’t try to copy anyone. Inside-out shots, back past the bowler and the one-two shots I’ve developed recently – you need to back them. Say, in the first six overs I get to play 18 balls, I try to see how my strike-rate can be at 150-160. Then, between overs 6-14, you need to break your innings down. If I am batting after six overs, what should the strategy be?” he explained.
“The way I get out in T20 cricket looks extremely ugly. That was when Rahul bhai [Dravid] told me ‘don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter how it looks. In T20s, you just watch the ball and hit it’. I feel my strike-rate improves with how much time I spend at the crease,” he continued.
Ajinkya Rahane has established himself as one of India’s most dependable slip fielders in recent times. In a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2015, he claimed eight catches – an all-time record.
Talking about his slip catching, Rahane said: “I was in the [Mumbai] Ranji U-19 team for two years, where I had a stint as a captain too, and my coach had gone around praising my slip-catching abilities.”
“I dropped so many catches in my first season. It could’ve been because I was nervous. I worked hard on identifying the angle of the ball while it approaches you. I also worked on the positioning of my hands.
“It got better with time. In the slips, the important thing is to switch on and switch off. You can’t be switched on all the time either because there might be a case of not being on at the right moment,” he further remarked.
