Indian team have landed in Australia and are all-set for their first overseas tournament post the Coronavirus outbreak. The much-anticipated series consists of 3 ODIs and T20is each as well as 4 Test matches. However, skipper Virat Kohli will leave his side after the first Test match to be with his pregnant wife Anushka Sharma during the birth of their first child. Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is expected to lead the “Men in Blue” in the remaining three test matches.
Harbhajan Singh has an advice for Ajinkya Rahane
Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has handed special advice to vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane regarding the Test series. Harbhajan Singh insisted that 32-year-old Ajinkya Rahane should stick with his game and follow his own instincts instead of trying to copy Virat Kohli’s style. Singh pointed out that Kohli and Rahane are two different personalities and they have a very different style of playing as well.
Harbhajan Singh, in an interview with Sports, stated “Ajinkya Rahane is very calm and composed, he is not very expressive. He is quite different from Virat Kohli. I want to remind Rahane that there is no need to change his game and his personality. Looking at Virat Kohli’s personality, Rahane might think that he should copy some things of Virat to defeat Australia, but I don’t think there is any need of it. Those who are like Rahane, they just need to stay the same and they should keep in mind that they can get the best performance out of them’.
Harbhajan Singh also spoke about the effect Kohli’s absence is going to cause in India’s performance. Kohli has a phenomenal record in Australia and his captaincy has proven to be fruitful for the ‘Men in Blue’ in the past. Adding to that, Virat Kohli’s winning mentality always put India in the front-foot against all the heavyweights in the world. Kohli’s name is enough to dominate the game before it starts and his absence will seemingly come up as a big advantage for the Aussies.
Ajinkya Rahane has captained India in one Test match before. Virat Kohli was injured earlier in the year and Rahane stepped in as a captain for the fourth test at Dharamsala against Australia. India managed to win that test comfortably which helped the home side to clinch the series 2-1. Ajinkya Rahane became the ninth Indian captain to win his first test match as captain.
Ajinkya Rahane was appreciated for adapting to conditions and change in the bowling which brought successive wickets. However, India’s squash-buckling opener Rohit Sharma will also be contesting for the role of captaincy in the absence of Virat Kohli. Sharma, who is given rest in limited-overs cricket, will replace Virat Kohli in the last three Test games.
