India’s stand-in captain for the first Test against New Zealand Ajinkya Rahane is once again under the scanner of fans and pundits. Rahane’s place has been under scrutiny after his below average performance in the last series against England. In India’s last test series, Rahane scored just 109 runs in 7 innings against England.
Former Indian cricketer and well-known cricket commentator VVS Laxman came down heavily on Ajinkya Rahane after he played a loose shot and failed to convert the start into a big score.
When Ajinkya Rahane made his debut for India, he impressed fans and pundits with his elegance and ease in the middle. But, now, it seems totally opposite. He looks unsettled and uneasy after scoring 30 runs, and throws his wicket away more often than not.
VVS Laxman criticised Rahane’s shot selection on Star Sports and that Rahane should played with the full face of the bat on the slow and low wicket in Kanpur. Laxman said that batsmen can’t play with an angled bat on pitches in India.
“The moment Ajinkya Rahane came into the crease, what did Kyle Jamieson do? He goes to short-pitch deliveries. We know Rahane has only one option against short-pitched deliveries, which is to play the pull shot. It was an instinctive shot that led to his dismissal. It’s okay to play besides the line in places like South Africa and Australia even if there is not much width, because of the bounce, you can hit through the square of the wicket” former Indian cricket VVS Laxman said.
“In Kanpur, you can’t play the ball where there is no bounce at all. You have to play with the full face of the bat, maybe a vertical bat. You can’t play with an angled bat,” VVS Laxman added while analysing Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal in the first innings.
