He was a central figure in India’s epic turnaround during the 2020-21 tour of Australia, but stand-in captain of that series Ajinkya Rahane says “someone else took credit” for the decisions he made to bring the team back to life. after the nightmare 36 all out in the Adelaide test. As regular captain Virat Kohli flew out of Australia leaving the disappointment of the humiliating loss in the Adelaide opener in his wake, Rahane took the reins in the toughest of conditions.
What followed was one of the most incredible turning points in Test history as India recovered to win the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by eight wickets, with Rahane leading the fight back with a magnificent hundred.
“I know what I did there. I don’t have to tell anyone. That’s not my nature to take credit for. Yes, there were some things I took on the pitch or in the locker room, but someone else got the credit,” Rahane said on an episode of “Backstage With Boria.”
“(What was) important to me was that we won the series. That was a historic series and for me that was very special.” Rahane didn’t name names, but his comments could well be a disguised attack on then-head coach Ravi Shastri, who was widely praised for the team’s performance and dominated the media for being the architect of the turnaround, as the dressing room resembled a hospital ward at any given time.
Shastri even became the voice of the team after those brilliant wins.
Rahane earned credit from the cricket club for the way he led the sorely exhausted team through one of the toughest situations, not just at the MCG but throughout the rest of the four-game streak.
India missed three frontline players at MCG and continued to lose key players through the series to injuries, but came out triumphant at the end of it all.
“After that, the reactions of people or those taking credit or what was being said in the media, ‘I did this’ or ‘this was my decision’, or ‘this was my call’, it was up to them to talk,” Rahane said.
“For my part, I knew which decisions I made on the pitch and which decisions I made on instinct.
“Yes, we also talked to the management, but it made me laugh. I did that on the field. I never talk much about myself and never praise myself. But I knew what I was doing there.” However, Rahane suffered a prolonged slump after leading India to that historic series win in Australia, and it continued on the tour of South Africa.
Last year he played 13 tests and scored just 479 runs at an average of 20.82.
He scored twice ’50s and some crucial ’40s, but overall he lacked consistency.
His selection of shots also came under the scanner, meaning the senior batter was stripped of his vice-captain last December.
In South Africa, he scored 136 runs from six innings with an under average of 22.67.
But he remains unperturbed by the criticism that followed his string of bad scores.
“I’m just laughing. People who know the sport in general won’t talk like that. I don’t want to get into that too much. Everyone knows, you know, what happened in Australia,” he said.
“Even after and before Australia, I don’t want to talk about the contributions I’ve made, especially in red ball cricket, but Australia really was. As I said, people who know the sport love the sport that they will talk wisely,” he said.
He has complete confidence in his abilities and continues to confidently rediscover his touch.
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“Yes, I’m confident in my own ability, I hit very well and I believe in my ability. And I still believe I still have good cricket in me,” said Rahane.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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