Ajinkya Rahane Is Very Clear Of What He Wants From His Team: Ishant Sharma

India pace bowler, Ishant Sharma has lauded Ajinkya Rahane and backs the Indian Test vice-captain to lead the side well in Virat Kohli’s absence in the next three Test matches against Australia. After the Adelaide Test, skipper Virat Kohli has left for home as he was given paternity leave by the BCCI to attend the birth of his child.

Hence, Kohli’s deputy will wear the captain’s armband for the next three matches in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Rahane will have an arduous task to pull the team out of the nadir after they collapsed for 36 runs in Adelaide. To add more miseries, apart from Kohli not being available, pacer Mohammed Shami is ruled out for the rest of the series.

Ajinkya Rahane is a bowler’s captain: Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma, who was ruled out of the Australia tour owing to the injury he suffered during the IPL, thinks that Rahane is a bowler’s captain and is always ready to listen to the bowler. Ishant says that when Virat is not around on the field, the Test vice-captain always confers with the bowler about his plans and is very clear in the role he wants every player to do.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Ishant Sharma said, “I must say he’s a bowler’s captain. Whenever we have played together and Virat has not been around on the field, Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane’s nickname) always asked me ‘what kind of field you want, when you want to bowl just tell me, if you want to go on (bowling)’. So I think he’s a bowler’s captain.”

“He’s not someone who’ll say: do this or do that. Even when Virat’s there he asks me every single time ‘how many overs you want to bowl so I will speak to Virat.’ He is very clear about what he wants from his team,” he added.

The 32-year-old has led India twice in Kohli’s absence: once against Australia and Afghanistan at home, and both times the hosts emerged as winners. The lanky pacer reveals that the right-hander is generally a calm and quiet person but often jokes around with the team as well. He concludes by saying that Rahane is a confident leader and will do well in the upcoming matches as the skipper.

“You can see what kind of person he is in his captaincy. He is very quiet, obviously, he is very confident. He is very calm as well. I can’t say he does not have a sense of humor. He jokes around with us. But he is very confident in what he wants to do,” Ishant Sharma concludes.

Also Read: Injured Mohammed Shami Set To Miss First Test Against England