Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra questioned BCCI’s decision to name Ajinkya Rahane India captain for the first Test against New Zealand in the upcoming two-match series.
The T20I series between the nations will kick start from 17th November in Jaipur followed by the second and the third T20I in Ranchi and Kolkata on 19th and 21st November respectively.
The two-match Test series will begin on November 25th in Kanpur followed by the second match in Mumbai on 3rd December.
After naming the squad for the T20I series, BCCI announced the squad for the Test series as well. The squad saw the likes of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah being rested while skipper Virat Kohli will join the team for the second match.
With Virat Kohli not being available for the first Test, Ajinkya Rahane has been named the captain with Cheteshwar Pujara being his deputy.
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BCCI’s decision to make Ajinkya Rahane skipper for the first Test against New Zealand didn’t go well with former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, who feels that the right-handed batter’s selection was in doubt if the last Test against England would’ve happened.
He pointed that Rahane’s average has fallen by 20 points in the last two years.
"You have picked Ajinkya Rahane as the captain. But the truth is also that, let's be honest, there was a question about him being selected for the last Test against England if the match had happened.
“As much as I like Ajinkya Rahane, the fact is that the average has been seen falling down only. There has been an odd good knock in between for sure but the average has fallen 20 points in the last two years. Rahane's average has never gone so low,” Aakash Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
Chopra mentioned that if Ajinkya Rahane had not scored an important fifty in the Lord’s against England the discussions regarding his omission from the team would’ve taken place.
He added that if Rohit Sharma is made vice-captain in the longest format of the game then Rahane might be put on the notice.
“If he had not made the half-century at Lord's - the partnership with Pujara in the second innings, it would have been a further point of discussion if you had to find a replacement for Ajju as well. If Rohit Sharma will be the vice-captain and Ajinkya might be put on notice,” he said.
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Aakash Chopra further said that the series against New Zealand is important for Ajinkya Rahane and he will have to score runs because he’s under pressure.
“But at this moment, he has been named the captain. It is a very important series for Rahane. He is there as a captain but he will have to score runs because there is pressure. The last one year has been really ordinary from his standards, by any standards actually,” he said.
Notably, Ajinkya Rahane’s consistency with the bat has been a cause of concern for Team India.
After scoring a match-winning hundred against Australia in Melbourne, the Indian Test vice-captain has been going through a lean phase and has scored just 372 runs in eleven Tests at an underwhelming average of 19.57 to go with one fifty-plus score.
