IPL 2019: The curious case of Ajinkya Rahane

This is the roller-coaster story of Rahane; never completely out of reckoning but often looking in from the outside.

India are a specialist batsman short going into the World Cup but even then there is no place for Ajinkya Rahane. Not too long back though, he was an automatic choice for the No 4 slot. At the 2015 World Cup in Australia, Rahane didn’t do too badly in that position, scoring 208 runs in seven innings at an average of 34.66 with a highest of 79 against South Africa. Since February 2018, however, Rahane has not been picked for India’s ODIs.

Rajasthan Royals cricketer Ajinkya Rahane. (AFP)

This is the roller-coaster story of Rahane; never completely out of reckoning but often looking in from the outside.

This has not been a great month for Rahane—five days after he found out he was not in the world cup squad, he was stripped of the Rajasthan Royals captaincy. That he responded to the news with one of his best innings in recent times—a classy 105 not out off 63 balls in Rajasthan’s game against Delhi Capitals—is a testament to his steely credentials. What fells Rahane is the gap between the such innings—this was his first IPL century in seven years.

“He (Rahane) knew he had little chance of getting selected,” said Wasim Jaffer, when asked how the World Cup snub could affect Rahane.

Jaffer has seen Rahane from his early days as a former Mumbai and office club teammate.

Jaffer points to a psychological frailty when talking about the ebb and flow of Rahane’s batting.

“He changed his approach quite a lot,” Jaffer said. “Sometimes he’s very aggressive, sometimes very defensive… unlike Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, who maintain their tempo.”

Jaffer says he has watched Rahane change his batting style and technique in the middle of a tour.

“He doesn’t need to do it, technically he is very good,” Jaffer said.

To make a point, Jaffer spoke on Rahane’s hundred this week.

“Earlier in the tournament he was struggling, going at a run a ball,” Jaffer said. “He needs to play his shots, whether he is captain or playing as an opener or batting at No 4. He has to back his shots, have a consistent approach and find a balance.”

It’s all in the mind

Jaffer believes that Rahane has not been backed by the team management as much as he should have been.

“They need to give him a longer rope,” he said.

The worry that he will be dropped eats into his confidence.

“He’s got runs in Australia, in West Indies he got half-centuries in all the matches last time, so he has proved he can do well in all conditions,” said Jaffer.

Former India middle-order batsman Sanjay Manjrekar made a similar point.

“His mind is very potent and has a significant impact on the way he bats. Despite his seniority, he is one who will need mentoring or handling with care all the time,” Manjrekar tweeted after watching Monday’s hundred.

Even Sulakshan Kulkarni — who coached Rahane at the under-19 level and was his senior at the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team for three years — emphasised on the mental aspect. “It doesn’t look like there is a technical fault in his game,” Kulkarni said. “Some people don’t know their capacity.”

He gives an example from Rahane’s early days.

“He was a very shy boy and would hesitate to talk. It was his second year of U-19 cricket and we had a team meeting before the season where we asked each player to spell out their individual goals. Rahane said 450 runs. I asked if it would be enough to play for the India under-19 team and told him to increase his target to 600 runs. His eyes lit up.”

He went on to make 750-plus runs and was straightway picked as the India Under-19 vice-captain.

“He doesn’t back himself that much,” Kulkarni said, pointing out how Rahane has the strength to come up with an innings like the hundred against Delhi Capitals when the chips are down.

Jaffer will keep an eye on Rahane—he wants to see if his former Mumbai teammate sticks to his strengths.

“It will be interesting to see how he plays the next three four innings,” Jaffer said. “Whether he goes back to his old game or continues to attack like he did for his hundred.”