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Calcutta: Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane has received a lot of applause from giants ranging from Ian Chappell to Michael Vaughan, but the one who best summed up the India test captain was Sourav Ganguly.
Currently Chairman of the Cricket Board of Control in India (BCCI), Ganguly tweeted, “… Good people also finish first.” When that happens, the moments to savor become more special.
Three years ago, Captain Virat Kohli and Head Coach Ravi Shastri excluded Vice Captain Rahane from the XI for the first round, in paradise Cape Town.
While the world was in shock, Rahane was devastated. Kohli, for his part, justified the inclusion of the beneficiary Rohit Sharma in the “current form”.
Clearly, Kohli and Shastri forgot that Rahane had averaged just slightly under 70.00 in the previous test series in South Africa.
The fact that Rahane, now 32, largely keeps to himself and that his voice is hardly ever heard made him a target to be pushed. What was ignored is that Rahane has such determination that setbacks don’t bring him down.
Big lesson: Rahane, a cricketer with a lot of character, is not worth pushing.
Naturally, what happened was overwhelming for Rahane and I remember looking shorter than 5’6 ”when I met him at the team’s hotel, The Cullinan. Unsurprisingly, Rahane did not comment on his exclusion, but said “thank you” when they offered their commiserations.
That wife Radhika who was next to him probably helped Rahane, who often de-stresses through Bollywood songs (Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan are the favorite actors), to overcome the humiliation.
India lost in Cape Town as well as in the next Test, in Centurion, where again Rahane was not played. With the series gone, he was called up for the final test, in Johannesburg.
Rahane produced a substantial inning – 48 in the second outing – before Mohammed Shami took center stage with five of 28 to overtake South Africa with 177. India won by 63 runs.
Once again, Rahane proved they need it. That it is indispensable to the extent that one can be. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who have influenced Rahane the most, were in the same group.
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At the height of the occasion
South Africa was three years ago. Now to the present. India had an eminently forgettable DN Test, in Adelaide, performing worse than Lord’s in the summer of 1974. Then Kohli headed home on paternity leave and Shami off the show. Also, Rohit was in quarantine in Sydney.
To put it in perspective, the odds piled up as much as possible when Rahane began planning for the Boxing Day Test and beyond, with India down 0-1 within days of the start of the series.
As one confidant told ThePrint, he was not someone to make “speeches”, Rahane kept his message for the team brief. Apparently, on the line that each one takes responsibility and makes a performance to erase a bit the memory of 36 in the Adelaide Oval.
After a bad IPL for the Delhi capitals, Rahane hadn’t done anything remarkable in the DN test. So there was additional pressure to launch the CGM.
In opting to hit, Australia was limited to 195, thanks in large part to bold changes to bowling and smart placements on the field. With the objective n. 1 achieved, Rahane posted an excellent 112 (his second hundred at MCG). Someone described it as an entry that wouldn’t invite many hits on YouTube, but what a hit.
He was a defining hundred and, under the circumstances, among the best overseas for a batsman from India. Rahane, however, ranks his 103rd counterattack on green terrain at Lord’s, in 2014, higher. That gem of Rahane was also in a winning cause.
A captain who performs is more respected and can then demand more. Rahane got into that position and got a little more, which was enough for India to win by eight wickets and level the four-round series 1-1.
Rahane wanted his men to show “character”, “intention” and “attitude” as all three were critical. He was not disappointed, even rookies Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj played their role with confidence.
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Outshining Rahane
You wanted to hear so much in Rahane’s own words, but Shastri appeared at the post-match press conference. The head coach didn’t have to overshadow the backup captain, but he did.
Did Shastri take questions from the media after the great embarrassment in Adelaide? No. I should have.
Imagine a rerun of MCG if Kohli was around, but Rahane is too gentle a person to impose himself or make a problem. It was his moment, and Shastri could, at best, have accompanied the Man of the Match.
It has gone largely unnoticed, but Rahane has a record for all wins as captain, with wins in Dharamsala vs. Australia and in Bengaluru vs. Afghanistan before MCG’s.
Rahane is not known to admire a captain, past or present, but he is believed to have studied the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni with some acuity. It was under his command that it made its debut in India (2011 in ODIs, 2013 in Tests).
Rahane’s own path
During and after the MCG test, however, Rahane’s captaincy gained admiration. If the venerable Chappell called it “imaginative”, Vaughan, who follows cricket globally, called it “magnificent.”
Glenn McGrath, one of the television commentators, applauded Rahane for being “crafty” and leading his “own way.”
Stepping into Kohli’s big shoes couldn’t have been easy, but Rahane delivered in a big way with her clearly understated yet clear-minded leadership style.
Of course, in the run-up to MCG’s test, Ishant Sharma, the oldest professional, who has had to miss the Australian tour due to injury, declared Rahane a “bowling captain”.
Not everyone may take it very kindly, but opinions should be respected.
After the Boxing Day test, the pressure is more on Australia. That will change dramatically if the reported violation of the biosecurity protocol by Rohit and four other Indian cricketers is established.
Rahane would therefore keep his fingers crossed until the Cricket Australia and BCCI investigation is completed.
It is for good reason that the captain’s chair is called the ‘hot seat’. Of course.
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