India Tour of Australia : “He is very positive, very aggressive” – Ian Chappell lauds India’s “very good replacement captain” Ajinkya Rahane
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Ajinkya Rahane
Virat Kohli‘s parental leave has been the talk of the town lately as the much anticipated Border Gavaskar series approaches. Kohli will be leaving after the series opener in Adelaide for the birth of his first child. This leaves a big hole in team India as they take on a full-strength Australia squad in the four-match Test series. This development has only added more spice to the clash of the top two sides of World Test Championship.
In Kohli’s absence, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will be taking over the side’s reigns for the last three Test matches. Rahane is the stark opposite of Kohli in his approach and this has the cricketing fraternity in a fix. The whole world is waiting to see how the visitors cope with this huge change in leadership.
I don’t think Australia will be complacent
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels that Rahane has the qualities to lead the side. Chappell points out how he lead the side in the final Test of Australia’s tour of India in 2017. The 77-year-old Aussie lauded his decision making in the game as he went on insisting that he will be a great replacement for Kohli.
“As far as captaincy is concerned, I saw Ajinkya Rahane captain in one Test match against Australia. Australia were in India a few years back and it was the deciding Test match. And I was very, very impressed with Rahane’s captaincy,” he said while speaking to Michael Holding on his YouTube channel.
“I thought he was very positive, very aggressive. When the game was in the balance, he always took the aggressive option. And he batted well at a time when India were probably going to win anyhow but things had got a little bit shaky. And he came in and took on Pat Cummins and took them home to victory.”
Chappell warns Australia not to be complacent in Kohli’s absence as he quickly adds that it is not something he expects from the hosts. With the return of Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia will be charging into the series brimming with confidence. The hosts look a solid all-round side as they look to set the records straight against India this time around.
“At least, they have got a very good replacement captain. And the other thing is if Australia, I don’t think they will do this, if Australia thinks that ‘Kohli is gone home and all we have to do is turn up’. If they think like that, it will be a big mistake. I don’t think they will be complacent,” Chappell added.
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Anshuman Mahapatra
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