India vs South Africa: Ajinkya Rahane needs to get back to form and reassert his significance in Tests

After receiving Test status 17 years ago and playing their first match against Sourav Ganguly’s India in 2000, Bangladesh were finally going to play a Test in India. BCCI, at last, were paying heed to Bangladesh’s progress in the preceding months and giving them recognition. Years of systematic disregard was going to come to an end. For the aforementioned reasons, the one-off Test between both the neighbouring nations was a momentous occasion which needed its due attention, but none of it seemed to matter. The only talking point before the match was: Will Karun Nair — the nation’s second triple centurion — be dropped for Ajinkya Rahane? As debates in newsrooms heated up, former cricketers chipped in with their opinions while fans on social media, too, didn’t shy away from offering their two cents. Many presumed it was a decision that must have put skipper Virat Kohli and the team management in a tangle. However, it was anything but. “One game doesn’t overshadow two years of hard work from another player. You need to understand what ‘Jinx’ (Rahane’s nickname) has done for the team over the past two years. He averages almost 50 in the format and he is probably most solid batsman in our team in the Test format… you can’t overlook Ajinkya’s two years of hard work on basis of one Test match. He (Rahane) deserves to walk back into the team whenever he got fit,” a nonchalant Kohli said ahead of the game to end all the speculations. The statement underlined how much Kohli valued Rahane. Since then, the Indian captain has time and again relayed the importance of Rahane to the team. When India bounced back in the Bengaluru Test against Australia after the Pune debacle on the back of a series-defining Cheteshwar Pujara-Rahane stand, Kohli heaped praise on the duo calling the two ‘India’s best batsmen’. These constant reaffirmations emphasised the backing Rahane enjoyed in the longest format. In contrast to his position in the Test team, Rahane was not a prominent figure in the India’s limited-overs teams. With Shikhar Dhawan looking rusty and out of nick during the England ODI series, Rahane had a great opportunity to cement his place as an opener ahead of the Champions Trophy 2017 with a commanding performance in the third game. However, he couldn’t rise up to the occasion as David Wiley dished out an absolute ripper to send him on his way with the score reading six. He was dropped from the T20I squad subsequently and was on the verge of being snubbed from the ODI team too. The circumstances didn’t change much in the Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Dhawan piled on the runs in England, while Rahane carried drinks. What followed can be regarded as an ultimatum or a great chance. The Mumbai batsman, whose role was constantly tinkered with in the ODI team, was given a clear message; he was going to open in all the five matches against Windies, his performances notwithstanding. The time was ticking on his ODI career. Rahane, the Test regular, now needed to alter his game to prove his white ball credentials and thus began the journey. Rahane amassed 336 runs at 67.20 but struck them at 77.06. The stats ring a bell or two, don’t they? The strike rate? We will come to that soon. The fruitful performances earned Rahane the Man of the Series award. He was subsequently replaced by Dhawan in Sri Lanka for the ODI series but in the latter’s absence the former was given the responsibility to open alongside Rohit against Australia and the good run continued. ‘Jinx’ averaged 48.80 in five matches while his strike rate also improved to 82.70. He had done his bit to solidify his name in the ODI squad and Kohli declared him as the third opener of the team. There is a reason why mentioning Rahane’s ODI performances ahead of a Test series is necessary. During the Australian ODI series, the 29-year-old had remarked how Sachin Tendulkar had asked him to work on his mindset rather than technique. “He (Tendulkar) did not tell me anything much about the technical stuff. He mostly spoke about the mental preparation, about aggression,” revealed Rahane. One cannot help but notice the usage of the word ‘aggression’. To attend to his problems surrounding his striking ability, Rahane had started playing a lot more shots against Windies and Australia and that habit of his has crept up in his Test game and was quite visible during the Sri Lankan series. [caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“825”] India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s form will be vital if India are to win the South African Test series. Reuters[/caption] Rahane, who has displayed exemplary levels of patience on numerous occasions, threw his wickets away against Dinesh Chandimal and Co. There was a tinge of tentativeness in his strokeplay. For example, he was promoted to No 3 in the second innings of the Delhi Test. It was a superb chance to cash in on after a few forgettable innings. India were sitting on a substantial lead and all Rahane had to do was to spend some time at the crease and he did that early on. But as soon as the Lankans began to choke the run flow, Rahane’s forbearance, or the lack of it, began to show. He hurried himself into big shots and eventually tried to attack his way out of the trouble. The end result: a catch to long on and a lost opportunity. His horrendous series, where runs simply deserted him and he averaged 3.40, had come to an end. Some pointed out how taking an out-of-form Rahane to South Africa could be detrimental to India’s chances. But as soon as the squad was announced, the chatter was put to rest. Not only was Rahane rightfully named in it, he also retained the vice-captaincy post. It is not a secret that Rahane has struggled to play on the slow and low pitches in sub-continental conditions, where a batsman has to reach out to the ball. Instead he thrives on decks that are conducive to bounce. He has also scored a match-winning century on a green track (Lord’s, 2014). He will be greeted by both bounce and swing in South Africa and will surely relish those challenges.

Rahane might be going through a lean patch but he still remains one of the key figures of the Indian batting line-up and it is pertinent to note that he is one of the rare players whose away average is better than his home average. And as India commence their journey of tough overseas tours — South Africa, England and Australia — the team needs Rahane to get back amongst the runs. But just like he resurrected his ODI career with a changed mindset, he might have to get into the Test series with a clear, fresh and a different thought process.

Another factor which will be crucial in South Africa will be slip catching and the Indian vice-captain is the team’s best. Just like every big series, Rahane has been training with his batting coach Pravin Amre and there seems to be no reason why won’t he assume the role of a senior batsman and a important slip fielder successfully. Rahane can seek solace in the fact that his captain and the management back him thoroughly and look to get find his lost touch with a tranquil state of mind.