IND vs SA Live: Time to move on from Ajinkya Rahane? – In the last few series, two positions have been constantly questioned — Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara’s. But amongst the two, it is former India Test captain (Stand-by) Rahane whose time has likely come to a premature end. With his awful batting woes, experts believe it is time for selectors to move on. Follow India vs South Africa Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
On Thursday, Ajinkya Rahane was supposed to play a pivotal role in helping India set a big target for South Africa. But his innings just lasted 9 deliveries as the Kagiso Rabada delivery took a faint edge off his glove to land in Dean Elgar’s hands, prolonging his awful run.
IND vs SA LIVE: Ajinkya Rahane’s ‘AWFUL BATTING WOES’ continues, experts says ’SELECTORS will MOVE-ON’ from former Indian captain
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After his gritty 58 in Johannesburg, he kept Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari out of the team. But the inconsistency of such knocks is revealing. With two in-form batsmen warming the bench, the South Africa tour is his likely last.
IND vs SA Live: Is this the end of Ajinkya Rahane?
- In last 12 months, Ajinkya Rahane has scored at an average of 24.08
- In 19 matches, he has scored just 819 runs including just one century and four fifties.
- Those 35 innings include 14 single-digit scores and 10 below 30 scores.
- In Cape Town Test, he returned with 9 and 1 when he needed to stay on and steer India clear of danger.
- As Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari are warming the bench, selectors will have to take a call.
IND vs SA LIVE: Ajinkya Rahane’s ‘AWFUL BATTING WOES’ continues, experts says ’SELECTORS will MOVE-ON’ from former Indian captain
Probably the last time we see #AjinkyaRahane in the #TestCricket #SouthAfrica on top notch form.#INDvsSA #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/uRqkFv0eVA
— Tuushhar Mehtta (@Tuushhar_Mehtta) January 13, 2022
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer told InsideSport that a lot would depend on his knock in the second innings and selectors will have to take a call on whether to bring a youngster. Now that Rahane has failed again, it is likely that the time is up for him.
“I am concerned about Ajinkya Rahane. The kind of consistency we expect from him or the kind of player he is, we haven’t seen that in him. After one high score, there are a few low scores. It has been a long time since he last scored a hundred. He even hasn’t scored a lot of high fifties or in 70-80s. So, somewhere I feel, selectors will have to take a call on whether they want to bring some youngsters and groom him,” Wasim Jaffer told InsideSport on InsideCricket show.
IND vs SA LIVE: Ajinkya Rahane’s ‘AWFUL BATTING WOES’ continues, experts says ’SELECTORS will MOVE-ON’ from former Indian captain
In the last 12 months, his career graphs have only gone down since leading India to historic Test victory in Australia. In the 19 matches, he has scored 819 runs, averaging 24.08 with just one century and three half-centuries. In those 35 innings, he has scored in single digits 14 times including four ducks. He has scored below 30s, 10 times.
After returning with a duck in Johannesburg 1st innings, Sunil Gavaskar said the next innings could be Rahane’s last. While he scored a career-saving 58 in Johannesburg, 1 & 9 in Cape Town has put up a question mark on his career once again.
“After these two dismissals, one can say that they probably have just next innings, both Pujara and Rahane to save their Test careers. There have been questions asked about their place in the team, and now with these two dismissals, they have just one innings left – the next innings. Looks like the way India are going, there will be a next inning for them to score something and maybe keep their place in the team,” Sunil Gavaskar said last week.
IND vs SA LIVE: Ajinkya Rahane’s ‘AWFUL BATTING WOES’ continues, experts says ’SELECTORS will MOVE-ON’ from former Indian captain
For selectors, they have been slowly taking away Rahane’s immunity. Ajinkya Rahane was replaced as the Test vice-captain with Rohit Sharma. Even though team management has backed Rahane for long, the water is above the head now. With Sri Lanka coming for two Tests, Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari are likely to be India’s middle-order batsmen, putting a full stop on Rahane’s Test career.
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