Ajinkya Rahane's Form Is Not An Area Of Concern, States Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli opened up on his deputy Ajinkya Rahane’s form and said that it is not an area of concern for the team.

Even before the start of the Test series between India and England, Rahane was under the hammer for being inconsistent with the bat. In 2021, the Mumbai batsman has scored 268 runs from 13 innings at an average of 20.62 and in the first Test against England, Rahane’s inning folded up just for five runs after he ran himself out.

Virat Kohli says we should focus on team’s collective efforts rather than individual’s struggles

However, Kohli feels that any individual’s struggle shouldn’t be focused ahead of the collective efforts of the team after he was asked about Rahane’s dip in form.

“I do not think that is an area of concern. Our basic focus is not to think about where are people individually at the moment, collectively how much strength they bring into the team is our focus. As a batting unit, we are looking to perform in difficult conditions so that we are in winning positions and someone is going to put their hand up every game,” Kohli said in a virtual press conference ahead of the second Test. 

Virat Kohli applauds KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah

KL Rahul, who made his return to Test cricket after a gap of two years, scored a gritty fifty against the England bowling led by James Anderson. Rahul topped the batting charts with his 84-run knock that included 12 fours.

Jasprit Bumrah rattled England’s batting as he picked nine wickets from his combined innings and also bagged his career’s sixth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Bumrah was not only lethal with the bowl but also played an important role as a tailender, where he scored 28 runs from 34 balls to boost India’s first innings’ lead to 95 runs.

Kohli hailed his players performance in the first Test and stressed on presenting the best batting unit on the field.

“Last match, KL Rahul, Jadeja, Bumrah, Rishabh with the cameo, they were outstanding. Rohit gave us a solid start as well so look people are going to contribute every now and then. You need to understand as a side, what is the best batting outfit you can present on the park,” Kohli said.

Virat Kohli feels Ravindra Jadeja will be confident to perform in the second Test

Ravindra Jadeja, who was played as the frontline spinner ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin, smacked a brilliant half-century, where his 56 runs helped India to overcome England’s dominance posed by Anderson and Ollie Robinson. Kohli believes the all-rounder will be high on confidence when he walks in to bat in the second Test match and also accepted that India’s middle-order failed to deliver runs.

“The good thing is that Jadeja has got runs in the first game already, so he will go into the second game confident. That already makes our batting a bit deeper, the lower-order contributed with the bat as well,” Kohli said. 

“Pujara, Rahane and I did not score too many, every game is an opportunity for other batsmen to step up as well,” he added. 

India takes on England in the second Test on Thursday at the Lord’s in London.

Also Read: India vs England 2021: Michael Vaughan Picks Virat Kohli To Be India’s Key Player At Lord’s