'Fabulous' Ajinkya Rahane Is An Aggressive Captain, Australia Legend Praises India Star
Published - 10 Dec 2020, 10:26 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:38 AM
All eyes will be on Ajinkya Rahane in the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia. The Test vice-captain will have to lead the team in the last three Tests in absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli. The India skipper will return home after the first Test in Adelaide to be at the birth of his child.
Having led India in two Tests before and leading the team to win in both the games, Ajinkya Rahane is not new to captaincy. However, he is gearing up to lead the team in an overseas Test for the very first time and one can say that Ajinkya Rahane could not have asked for a tougher opposition and venue.
But while only time will tell how he fares as a captain, former Australia captain Ian Chappell has already him as a “fabulous captain”. Chappell expects that Ajinkya Rahane’s “aggressive style” will suit the Indian team in the upcoming series. He recalled how the India star impressed him as a captain during the 2017 Dharamsala Test against Australia.
“Well, I saw him captain in one Test against Australia (in Dharamsala in March, 2017) and found his captaincy to be fabulous. He was really an aggressive captain.
“I remember a couple of aspects about his captaincy. What stood out for me was in the Australian first innings, Warner was going well and getting on top of Indian bowlers. He brought in Kuldeep Yadav (debutant) and he dismissed Warner,” Chappell was quoted as saying by PTI.
“The second thing I remember was India chasing a low total and they lost a couple of wickets. Rahane just came in and attacked the Australian bowlers and scored some 20 odd (38 off 27 balls). I liked that approach.
“Look, as a captain, you always have two choices — one is the aggressive route and the other is a conservative approach. I have believed that in Test cricket aggressive approach is a must and Rahane is aggressive,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has started his tour of Australia on a fine note by scoring a fighting unbeaten ton while leading India A against Australia A in the first tour game. The game ended in draw. Both the teams will play another tour game before the senior teams fight it out in the Test series.
