‘My captain boosted my morale’: Rahane reveals he never felt his ‘place in the team was in danger’

It was a pre-planned process: once Virat Kohli is gone after the first Test, Ajinkya Rahane will take charge and lead the side in the rest of the series. But the latter hardly had any idea about the added responsibilities he would be loaded with.

After Kohli’s departure, Rahane had an added responsibility of inspiring the team to bounce back from the Adelaide debacle. And when he walked out as a captain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the pendulum swung in India’s favour.

After six innings of unsatisfactory batting, the stand-in captain finally came up with a classy hundred in the Boxing Day Test. His knock laid the foundation of India’s series-levelling win against the Aussies.

During an interview with news agency PTI, when Rahane was asked if his century strengthened his place in the Test team, Rahane said, “Honestly speaking, I never ever felt that my place in the side was ever in danger. The captain and team management always had faith in me.”

Rahane also revealed how he has been getting backed by his captain - Virat Kohli -whenever he failed to perform with the bat.

"Yes, sometimes in a few series, a player is off-colour but that doesn't mean that his class is gone. A player needs only one knock to get back to his form. When I was going through a bad patch, my captain boosted my morale. It's always comforting to know that you have his backing and you are then focused on giving your best without any worries,” Rahane told PTI.

Rahane also spoke about his leadership and gave credit to his teammates for making his job easier.

“With regards to leadership, I can only say that it varies from person to person. A captain is as good as his team. When you win a match or a series, it's always a collective effort and not because of a singular man's contribution.

“It's your teammates only, who make you a good leader. The complete credit of this series win belongs to my team,” Rahane concluded.