I Wanted Ajinkya Rahane To Be In The ODI Set-Up - Chetan Chauhan

Former Indian cricketer Chetan Chauhan has said that Ajinkya Rahane should have been in the Indian ODI squad against New Zealand. Team India faced a humiliating loss against the Kiwis in the recently-concluded ODI series. Having clean-swept them in the T20 series, India kneeled down in front of them in the ODIs. The Men in Blue were clean-swept 3-0 by the Black Caps in the 50-over competition.

The series defeat has come as a shock to cricket fans and experts and probable reasons are being sighted out for a poor display.

One reason was a poor individual performance from top-quality stars including Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.

Another reason behind the humiliating loss was the unavailability of star players like Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma due to injury.

Thus, Chauhan is of the opinion that an experienced campaigner like Rahane should have been in the ODI side.

Also Read: ICC ODI Rankings: Jasprit Bumrah Loses Top Spot After Poor Series In New Zealand

Chetan Chauhan Backs Ajinkya Rahane in the ODI Side

“I wanted Rahane to be in the ODI set-up when (Shikhar) Dhawan and Rohit (Sharma) got injured. Someone who could have given stability to the side should have been brought into the side,” Chauhan said.

“(Jasprit) Bumrah is looking a little tired. I expect the side to give a good performance in the Test series against New Zealand. Experienced campaigners like Rahane will be back in the Test set-up, but Rohit and Dhawan will be missed,” he added.

India faced a humiliating loss by the Kiwis in the ODIs. The Men in Blue were whitewashed for the first time in 31 years since their 5-0 defeat came against West India in 1988.

Individual performances from top-quality stars were dismal as it was the poorest ODI series for Kohli in terms of statistics since his captaincy debut in the format.

Bumrah went wicketless for an entire series in ODI cricket for the first time since his debut in international cricket.

India will now face the Kiwis in a two-match Test series. The first game of the series will begin from 14th February at Wellington.

Also Read: India-Pakistan Bilateral Cricket Shouldn’t Happen: Chetan Chauhan