My Captaincy Looked Good Because Everyone Contributed: Ajinkya Rahane

Despite leading Team India to one of its greatest-ever triumphs, skipper Ajinkya Rahane was at his modest best when he said that his captaincy looks good because each and every member contributed to the teams’ cause.

Rahane stepped into Virat Kohli’s shoes post the shambles of 36 all-out in Adelaide as the regular skipper headed home on paternity leave. Rahane personally wasn’t going through a good run-of-form. He had run out his skipper Virat Kohli in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, one that triggered a fateful collapse. Questions were being asked about his form too. He had not scored a Test hundred in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or England since 2014.

Add his personal demons with the responsibility of leading the side grappling with the humiliation it had suffered in Adelaide and the ever-increasing list of injuries, the Mumbai cricketer had his task cut-out. But, as they say, adversity transforms a man into a beast, and that is exactly what happened with Ajinkya Rahane as he led the team from the front courtesy of an outstanding match-winning hundred and aggressive captaincy in the Boxing Day Test.

But, the humble personality that Rahane is, he refused to take any credit for the role that he played in galvanizing his team that eventually propelled them to a historic heist in Brisbane on Tuesday. Instead, the middle-order batsman chose to give credit to the entire team as well as the support staff for the epic turnaround.

“It’s an honour to lead the country. It was not about me but about the team. I looked good because everyone contributed. For us it was about having that character on the field, having the fighting spirit, the attitude,” Ajinkya Rahane said in the post-match presser when asked about his captaincy stint

“It was really tough after the Adelaide Test but it was all about showing character and fighting spirit. We were not thinking too much about the result. We just wanted to play good cricket. Credit to everyone in the squad including the support staff,” he said.

Proud to be a part of this unit ?? pic.twitter.com/bZZupXEAfE

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) January 19, 2021

The Indian team will soon be locking horns with England in a four-match Test series on home soil where Virat Kohli will be back to lead the team. But, for now, Rahane wants his team as well as the entire country to savour and enjoy the historic triumph.

“We all should enjoy this win, not just us but every Indian should enjoy this. What we did here is historic and we want to enjoy this win tonight and once we land in India we will think about the England series,” said Ajinkya Rahane.

One of the standout features of India’s win in Brisbane was the manner in which youngsters like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan stood up for their side on different occasions and Rahane was full of praise for them.

“The way Gill batted for the last three Tests was really good. He was really composed, calm under pressure and today everyone saw what he can do,” he said.

“Washington Sundar in his first Test (here in Brisbane), we know about his bowling, but the way he batted in the first innings with Shardul (Thakur) was really good. They have set the bench-mark for themselves and I am sure they will grow from here,” Rahane added.

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