Ajinkya Rahane Might Be Quiet But He Is As Aggressive As Virat Kohli - Deep Dasgupta

Former India cricketer, Deep Dasgupta talks about Ajinkya Rahane and how he is impressed by the leadership of India’s stand-in captain in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Rahane led the Indian team to a memorable victory in the second Test in Melbourne levelling the series.

Dasgupta says that he has watched Ajinkya Rahane since his first-class debut for Mumbai where he struck a hundred opening the batting. Dasgupta had spotted a special talent in Rahane much before everyone else did.

“I knew he could do it, there are no two ways. I have been an Ajinkya fan not just from his international debuts but from his first-class days because you could see someone special there,” Deep Dasgupta told Sports Today.

Rahane keeps quiet and is less expressive: Deep Dasgupta

The former wicket-keeper says people shouldn’t mistake Rahane’s calm demeanour for less aggression. Dasgupta opines that Rahane is soft-spoken and is less animated than Virat Kohli, but is equally as aggressive as Kohli in terms of captaincy and thinking.

“He might be quiet but that doesn’t mean he isn’t aggressive. He might be less expressive than someone like Virat, but he is equally aggressive, equally attacking, the way he thinks and handles himself. It’s just that he keeps quiet. But I have seen him leading us well. We all have seen him leading India before,” Dasgupta added.

The 43-year-old reminds everyone of Rahane’s captaincy in Dharamshala against Steve Smith’s side. He observed Rahane as an attacking skipper in his bowling changes, field placements, team selections – the 32-year-old likes to take the field with 5 bowlers, India has won all the three matches in which Rahane has led the side. The Bengal keeper also points out that the right-hander is smart at counter-attacking with the bat when the team is under pressure.

“We all remember how he led the team in Dharmshala. He was attacking in his mindset; his bowling changes were attacking. His team, again, was very attacking. So, I think, if you look back and see… you will get hints that he is someone who is very, very aggressive in his mindset. Obviously, his batting tells you that… the way he bats, counter-attacking more often when India is not in trouble,” the former keeper said.

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