Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said Ajinkya Rahane’s batting these days doesn’t provide the security that his team expects from him.
Manjrekar’s comments came after India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was out for another low score on Day 2 of the India-England fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
“Coming to Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket, every time I see him bat these days, I don’t get that comfort…. Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t give you that security that the team needs or his fans would want from him. That’s something that has been wrong with his batting for a long time now,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo in a video interview.
Rahane was dismissed for 27 off 45 balls right at the stroke lunch after he nicked a James Anderson away going delivery to Ben Stokes at second slip.
Manjrekar said Rahane appears to short of confidence. “Every time I see Ajinkya Rahane bat these days, I feel a batsman short of confidence, a batsman who seems extremely insecure,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Manjrekar said Rahane appears to short of confidence. “Every time I see Ajinkya Rahane bat these days, I feel a batsman short of confidence, a batsman who seems extremely insecure,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Rahane tried to bat aggressively in his stay in the middle but Manjrekar said he didn’t quite look convincing even while going ahead with this aggressive approach.
“Rahane stood out with his (aggressive) approach. Rahane has batted in this way in the last 3-4 years. There have been times when he plays all these shots. But even when he plays in this fashion not all the shots that we saw were convincing. So yes, he has scored freely but wasn’t giving too much confidence to the batsmen who were watching from the dressing room,” Manjrekar said.
Ever since that match-winning hundred in the first innings of the second Test match against Australia in Melbourne, Rahane’s scores have been 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1, 0, 67, 10, 7, and 27.
Manjrekar, however, did not forget to credit England captain Joe Root for his tactics of using Anderson smartly.
“Great move from England to start with Jimmy Anderson in the morning and then keep him fresh for another burst right at the end (of the session) before lunch,” he said.