Rahane readies to slip back into Kohli’s shadow
MUMBAI: Virat Kohli has a fine record as India skipper but with the experts still drooling over how well his deputy, Ajinkya Rahane, marshalled his limited resources in challenging situations against Australia, it is only natural there will be extra scrutiny on Kohli’s captaincy in the upcoming England series.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has said Kohli taking charge from Rahane is an interesting story that will be discussed throughout the series. And it was no surprise that Rahane faced a lot of questions on Kohli’s return as captain during the vice-captain’s pre-series media interaction on Wednesday. The man of the moment deflected all the attention on to Kohli, saying: “My job is to take the backseat and help Kohli. As a captain, there are too many things on your mind, as a vicecaptain you have to visualise the situation, think about what can happen in the game, and if the captain asks you for some suggestions then you should be ready—whenever required or he asks me about certain things, I tell him. Originally, he is the captain. We are just focusing on playing together.”
To another Kohli question clubbed with Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, on who would have the biggest impact on the series, Rahane said: “We are thinking about playing as a unit. Yes, Virat’s return is a positive sign for us. He has been batting really well. Stokes and Archer are very good players, they did really well for England. But, it’s not about individuals.”
In Australia, Kohli led in the opening Test at Adelaide and Rahane took over for the last three Tests when the captain returned home on paternity leave. Kohli had left with his team having folded for India’s lowest ever total of 36 in the second innings, losing by eight wickets. To everyone’s surprise, Rahane managed to lift the team to storm back in the series with victory in the next Test at Melbourne. He led from the front by batting at No 4 and scoring a hundred.
For the England series, Rahane will slip back to his usual No. 5 batting position
when Kohli regains his No. 4 slot. The vice-captain admitted it will need some mental adjustments. “Little bit adjustments are needed; I feel really good about my batting form,” said Rahane.
At No. 4, Kohli has scored 5,804 runs in 104 innings at an average of 59.22. Rahane has a better average at No. 4 (54.50), but has a lot more experience playing at No. 5, where he has batted for 87 of his 117 Test innings. When in full flow, the two complement each other well. Even in the first innings at Adelaide, the two were batting beautifully together in an 88-run association before the unfortunate run out of Kohli.
Coming off such a high as in Australia where India defied all odds can be a challenge. The main concern is complacency creeping in when having the advantage of home conditions. Rahane said he checked himself after basking in the glory for a couple of days on returning home following the epic victory at Brisbane.
“It’s a good feeling. We have returned after a massive victory in Australia, for two-three days it was a really special feeling, but after that I had to remind myself that what has happened is history, it’s in the past now, it’s far more important to stay in the present. I have to do what is important to prepare for this series.”
All eyes will be on the home team’s spinners. The conditions are expected to be tailor-made for R Ashwin & Co in both venues, Chennai and Ahmedabad. It is what the England batsmen will be most nervous about.
Rahane sounded an early warning.
“Indian wickets will always suit any spinner. Yes, we know we are playing in India and we will back our strength. We have to wait and see how it behaves on the first day.”