Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that he was confident of Ajinkya Rahane playing in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion, given his experience at the highest level.
Karthik was also impressed by the intent shown by Rahane on day one of the first Test.
He also credited India head coach Rahul Dravid and Test captain, Virat Kohli, for supporting the struggling Rahane and selecting him in the XI, despite his recent string of poor batting performances.
However, Rahane got off to a positive start on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, as he remained unbeaten on 40 at stumps on Sunday, hitting 8 boundaries, and has already added 73 runs with the opener KL Rahul (122*) against South Africa.
Karthik told Cricbuzz: “I believe that one of the other two could have probably got a chance. But having said that, I knew and I got a strong gut feeling that they will go with Rahane for two reasons. Firstly, he is an experienced player; he has been the vice-captain up until this series.”
On Rahane's ability to play medium pace well, Karthik added: “He is somebody who plays medium pace well, he has a pretty decent record in South Africa and whenever India has been under pressure, he's got the runs. When you are going in with six batters, I think they wanted to rely on experience because that's what Ajinkya Rahane brings to the table. I love the intent with which he bats.”
He signed off by saying, “Credit to Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli for backing him... I am happy for Rahane because he needs the runs but what I enjoyed more was the intent he showed. He was ready to play his shots that he was good at and that was good to see.”
