Published By: Saksham Mishra

Ajinkya Rahane 2.0 - hit or flop?

Ajinkya Rahane has been an improved batsman since the end of 2018 but is his second avatar good enough to help him retain his position in the Indian test team? Ajinkya Rahane is the vice captain of the Indian test team and led India to a brilliant 2-1 test win over Australia in the absence of Virat Kohli. However, his place in the team is still under question.

In 2017 and 2018, Rahane did not have a great run and averaged under 35 in both those years. He bounced back in 2019, scoring 642 runs from 8 matches at an average of over 70 with two centuries and five half centuries.

However, his returns have plateaued again and Rahane needs to be a lot more consistent in order to retain his place in the side in the long run.

"It feels special to be the leading run-scorer. I'm happy to take criticism. I feel because of the criticism, I'm here," Rahane said. "I always want to give my best, whether people criticise me or not. For me what is important is to give my best for my team, my country and contribute, each and every time. Be it as a batter or as a fielder. I don't really think about criticism. If people criticise me, that's their thing and that's their job. I cannot control these things. I always focus on the controllables, putting my best foot forward and following my process. And the result follows."

"I like to be in the present. Doesn't bother me much, what my record is in England as long as I'm contributing to my team. For me, winning is more important - whether I score 100 or score less. Even if I score 30-40 runs, if those 30-40 runs are valuable, I'm happy. It's all about the team, it's all about contribution, so I don't want to put too much pressure on myself."

Rahane scored the most runs for India in the world test Championship cycle 2019-21 with 1159 runs from 18 matches at an average of 42.92 with three centuries and six half centuries.

A big reason for him succeeding to do that though was that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli missed a few matches. Is an average of 42.92 good enough for an Indian middle order batsman in the long run? We'll find out.