Giving a sneak peek into his role as deputy to Virat Kohli in Test cricket, India’s Ajinkya Rahane recently said it is important for a vice-captain to provide suggestions to the captain but he also believes in taking a back seat and let the skipper do his job with utmost command.
WATCH – Rahane speaks in Marathi about enjoying ‘Poha and Coffee’ in New Zealand
When Kohli was injured during the fourth and final Test against Australia at home in 2017, Rahane had led India to a famous series-clinching victory in Dharamsala.
"As a vice-captain, it is important that first you take a back seat and whenever the captain comes for a suggestion you should be ready to give that suggestion. If the captain has Plan A you should have Plans B and C ready with you. As captain, I think everyone has a different style of captaincy. For me, it's all about keeping myself calm and cool. As captain, you sometimes tend to become (agitated) but you have to keep yourself really calm and back your instincts. I believe captaincy is all about backing your instincts," Rahane said on the latest episode of India Today Inspiration.
Team India are currently leading the ICC World Test Championship points table with 360 points from 8 Tests, and they are likely to play the final of the inaugural event in June 2021.
In their WTC campaign so far, India have whitewashed West Indies (2-0; away), South Africa (3-0; home) and Bangladesh (2-0; home) while they lost only one match against New Zealand in Wellington last week.
Sharing his views on World Test Championship, the Indian vice-captain said: “I think WTC is really important and I think it's a really good concept because points systems are involved. You gotta take every game seriously. A number of times in a 3-match series even if you win 2-1, a drawn game or a loss is going to cost you points. So every series - home or away - is important. You can't take any opposition lightly. I think WTC going forward, personally I am really excited about it and doing well in this journey.”
“2 years you gotta maintain your form, take care of your fitness and all these factors. If you are playing at home you know you gotta win every game and when away you have to at least win one or two games a draw another game. So I think every team is going to take it seriously. As an individual you gotta focus on strength, fitness and your momentum. Because after New Zealand there is a big gap in Test series so it will be really challenging to bring back that momentum,” he further remarked.
