Scoring Runs Will Solve Everything For Ajinkya Rahane: Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan will be a crucial test of character for stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane. Ganguly said the same because of the way Rahane has been in and out of the team in the last few months.

Despite being one of the most important members of the Test team, he was surprisingly dropped from the first two Tests in South Africa. He then impressed in the third Test, scoring a gutsy 48 in the second innings on a pitch that was nothing less than a minefield to help India secure a consolation win.

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The right-handed batsman was then given a chance to seal his spot in the ODI team. He impressed immediately by scoring 79 in the first ODI against the Proteas. However, he just could not maintain the form in the following games. It was followed by a poor outing in the Indian Premier League and he paid the price for it by losing his spot in the ODI team for the England tour.

Rahane is now leading India in the historic Test against Afghanistan and Ganguly feels scoring runs is the only way for the Mumbaikar to bring his career back on track.

“He (Rahane) must be thoughtful after the roller-coaster ride he has had. After being left out of the first two Test matches in South Africa, he came back to play a crucial role in the win in the third match there, and now in the next Test, he is the captain. Rahane must be thinking, ‘what is my right status as a cricketer’? He has to push all these thoughts out of the way and score runs, which will solve everything. He needs to remember that players go through this in their career. This is a small crisis and he needs to focus. Keep it simple, bite the bullet, and just score runs,” Ganguly wrote in TOI.

The legendary skipper further shifted his focus towards Afghan cricketers who will be playing their first-ever Test. With chances of starting their Test career with a win very bleak, Ganguly said the players should use it as an opportunity.

“The Afghan cricketers have already played a few formats of the game but they will realize that this is the best and the biggest, the one that separates the men from the boys. There is talent in Afghanistan cricket, with the exploits of Rashid Khan already being a big talking point, and I am sure that all of them are looking forward to making a mark in Test cricket. This is a historic moment for their country, and they should feel happy that they are starting off against one of the top teams of the game, because it is always best to test oneself against the best in the business, “ Ganguly opined.

“If I were an Afghan cricketer, I would like to see this as an opportunity. There is a very fine line between pressure and opportunity and the Afghan boys should tread the path of opportunity to test themselves out on the big stage,” he concluded.