'Ajinkya and I’ve..': Virat Kohli gives his insight on Rahane's performance in Chennai Test
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Skipper Virat Kohli defended his vice-captain and said that he is the most important Test batsman in Team India.
Team India suffered a crushing defeat by Joe Root's England by 227 runs in the first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The horrific loss raised many questions like the exclusion of the Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav for the playing XI, Virat Kohli's captaincy and Ajinkya Rahane's poor form.
Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane came under some major criticism for his poor batting display at Chennai as he was out on just 1 and 0 in two innings. Despite scoring a century at the MCG Test against Australia, Rahane has managed to score just 779 runs at 29.96 in 18 matches with a single hundred and 6 fifty-plus scores under Kohli’s leadership in India.
Skipper Virat Kohli defended his vice-captain and said that he is the most important Test batsman in Team India.
“Look, if you’re trying to dig something out, you’re not going to get anything because there is nothing,” the Indian skipper said on being asked about Ajinkya Rahane’s poor scores in the Chepauk Test. “Ajinkya and I’ve said this many a time in the past as well, that along with Pujara, he is our most important Test batsman and he’s going to continue to be. We believe in his abilities; we have believed in his abilities for a long time. He’s an impact player. If you talk about the MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred there when the team wanted it most,” Kohli told the press on Tuesday.
About Kuldeep Yadav's omission:
Team India's playing XI for the first Test against England left many puzzled as Kuldeep Yadav's name was omitted from the list.
Nadeem's inclusion came as a surprise as he was not the part of the original India squad.
After losing the first Test to England, Kohli was asked about the reasons behind not playing Kuldeep in the first Test to which he replied that he does not regret the decision.
"Not really, not at all. When you playing two off-spinners, Kuldeep becomes more or less same kind of spinner taking the ball away," Kohli said at the press conference.
