Ajinkya Rahane Virat Kohli Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly feels Ajinkya Rahane's 79 was as important as that of Virat Kohli's 112 in the Durban ODI against South Africa. Image Courtesy: Getty Images

Virat Kohli is confident that Ajinkya Rahane will do well as a captain in the last three Test matches against Australia. Rahane will step into the captaincy shoes after the first Test in Adelaide.

Regular skipper, Virat Kohli has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI. He will return home post the Adelaide Test match to attend the birth of his first child with his wife and Bollywood actress, Anushka Sharma. Therefore, Rahane will lead the side in Tests in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane respectively.

Virat Kohli Backs Ajinkya Rahane To Do A 'Tremendous' Job In His Absence As A Captain
Virat Kohli with Ajinkya Rahane (Credits: Getty)

Speaking to the reporters ahead of the first Test, Kohli opined that Rahane led the team brilliantly in the two warm-up matches. Kohli feels that the vice-captain is a calm and composed cricketer. He also underlined that the team’s focus is to win matches collectively and not on individuals.

“Jinx(Ajinkya Rahane) has done a tremendous job in the tour games. He’s very composed and knows the strengths of our team. Our cricket has been a collective effort of the whole team, it’s a cultural effort and not just about me strategizing things and putting things in front of people. We already know the template we play with,” Virat Kohli said in the pre-match press conference.

This is Rahane’s time to really step up: Virat Kohli

The 32-year-old reckons that he and his deputy share the same vision, and backs Rahane to do well in his absence in the last three games of the tour. Kohli maintains that this is Rahane’s time to step up as a skipper.

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Under Kohli, India won its first-ever Test series down under a couple of years ago. Rahane has led India twice in Kohli’s absence – against Australia and Afghanistan each – and India emerged victorious in both Test matches. Hence, Kohli feels that even without him in the side, India have a good chance of winning every game.

Ajinkya Rahane
Virat Kohli with Ajinkya Rahane (Credits: AP)

“We’re absolutely on the same page. I’m sure he’ll do a tremendous job in my absence. But the focus remains for me to provide captaincy and leadership while I’m here. From then on, I’m confident that Jinx will do a tremendous job.

“I’ve said this previously as well, I feel like this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual, and as a captain as well he’ll do a great job. We’re on the same page completely and the vision is to put in good performances and make sure we are competing for every game and win the series,” Virat Kohli added.

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