‘Team Man' Rahane Bats For Himself

Vice-Captain Says Form Not A Worry, Requests People To Check Their Facts

- Dhananjay Roy

Mumbai: Among Ajinkya Rahane’s many praiseworthy attributes are his ability to dodge tricky questions with agendas in a press conference. That quality has held him in good stead upon his return from a successful tour of Australia where he was asked about surrendering authority to Virat Kohli. However, question him about his own form, especially while tackling the spinners in Indian conditions and you get a steely response from the vice-captain.

Rahane has totalled just 85 runs in five outings with a highest of 67 in the second Test in Chennai. He also remains the only Indian batsman in the top six who is yet to cross the cumulative three-figure mark in the series.

He was asked to shed some light on whether there was any physical or mental barrier that is stopping him from dominating spinners while playing at home where his numbers have been modest when compared to playing overseas.

His sequence of scores in the current series reads: 7; 67, 10; 1 and 0 and four of those dismissals have come against spin. “I was expecting someone to ask this question and thankfully, you asked,” Rahane pointed out defiantly during the virtual press conference two days prior to the start of the fourth Test at Ahmedabad.