He proved himself as India skipper in Australia; IPL will provide a different opportunity as leader this season
Kolkata: Rarely has Ajinkya Rahane been a first-choice captain, but he has unfailingly been a leader. A glowing episode in Indian cricket is the 2018 tour of South Africa where Rahane top-scored in the second innings of the Johannesburg win after he was left out of the first two Tests despite being vice-captain. Australia 2020-21 started as a nightmare with India hurtling to ignominy after being 36 all out, only for Rahane to take over captaincy at MCG next up and score a match-winning hundred. He then led the team to the miracle at Gabba, then quietly conceding centre stage to Virat Kohli, who had gone home after Adelaide.
KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit with captain Ajinkya Rahane during a training session in Kolkata. (PTI)
Out of international cricket for over 20 months after the selectors turned the page on him and then be asked out of nowhere to lead IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) this season, it feels like a punt.
Only it isn’t. Those who know Rahane vouch for the grit that kept knocking on the selectors’ door till he made his Test debut at 25. Never a prodigy, and rarely indulged like other Mumbai stalwarts, industrious, an astute reader of the game, and calm to the point of freaky, Rahane always had the bearings to be a leader. IPL 2018-19 was probably an opportunity lost at Rajasthan Royals, and the ceaseless struggle to stay relevant to the India team’s requirements took a heavy toll as well. But this is as good a chance as ever for Rahane to script a tale for posterity.
Recent form is the immediate point of reference but in Rahane’s case what stands out is the selflessness that always made him view the lowest of lows in his career as necessary sacrifices for a common goal. “See, it’s a team game,” Rahane told HT soon after that South Africa tour of 2018. “My nature is such that if someone knows what’s best for the team and is deciding accordingly as captain, I will respect that. And I respected that. I never think about myself.”
To have one with that thought leading KKR presents a range of possibilities. Think more flexible batting orders, more innovative fields, aggressive middle-overs bowling and more selfless cricket as a whole. Investing in Rahane’s leadership at 36 could be seen as short-term, but in the context of how fluid the T20 landscape has been, this is possibly the best time to tap into Rahane’s reservoir of ideas before he calls it a day.
The batting too has seen an upswing of late. Rahane has two IPL hundreds but crucial has been his recent form in domestic T20 cricket, scoring 469 runs at a strike rate of 164.56 with five half-centuries in the last edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. At a time when T20 tactics are again being overhauled, Rahane’s slapdash batting has the potential to give further impetus to a KKR line-up where Sunil Narine opens the batting for maximum impact.
“It was always about being an anchor and the others would play around me,” Rahane recently said at an event in Mumbai. “(But the) last 2-3 years, it’s always about playing with freedom, fearless cricket – go out and back my game.”
This appointment bears a touch of KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit as well. Two Mumbaikars with a shared history of Ranji Trophy excellence, two very similar minds focused on process and discipline, celebrations always tempered. It is probably what KKR needs to balance the effervescence on the field. The IPL brand of cricket is decidedly expressive, but more often than not the tournament has also witnessed sustained excellence from those who stay true to their instincts. MS Dhoni heads that chart, followed by Gautam Gambhir, who was a great captain for KKR not because of the resources at his command, but his awareness of the team’s limitations. Rahane is cut from the same cloth, as captain as well as batter.
“It’s about following my processes and routines and staying loyal and truthful to the game. It is just about staying in the moment, staying calm and keep backing myself. Not to think too much ahead and not to think about the past. It’s always about improving and enjoying my game,” Rahane said.
Nice words, till they are put to test. Defending a title is more difficult than winning it, something only Chennai Super Kings (2010, 2011) and Mumbai Indians (2019, 2020) have achieved so far. And such is the exacting nature of IPL – it starts on March 22 – that there will always come a juncture where a captain is judged solely for his game sense. Keeping motivation levels high while leading a team that fundamentally believes in playing a high-risk game is possibly the biggest challenge Rahane has taken upon himself.
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