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Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar discussed the challenges faced by Team India batters in the current Test match against South Africa. He highlighted the impressive performance of Ajinkya Rahane in Johannesburg a few years ago and suggested that his experience would have been beneficial in the current series.
Ajinkya Rahane was not selected for the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa, which surprised many. He had previously been dropped from the team after the 2021 South African tour but worked hard in the domestic circuit to make a comeback.
After Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the Indian squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final, Ajinkya Rahane was brought in as a replacement. He played exceptional innings in the final against Australia and contributed to the team’s success in challenging situations.
Ajinkya Rahane showed tremendous form in both innings and was subsequently selected for the West Indies series. However, he struggled in that series, and with Shreyas Iyer’s return, he was left out of the team. His absence in the ongoing series was notable.
India’s batting performance in the ongoing Test did not meet expectations, with young batters Shubman Gill (2) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (18) failing to make an impact. Sunil Gavaskar criticized those who blamed the pitch for the poor showing and pointed out Ajinkya Rahane’s success in similar conditions. He stated:
“People have been talking about the pitch in the Johannesburg Test five years back and I was there. Yeah it wasn’t the easiest of pitches to bat on, but Ajinkya Rahane, who had not been picked for the first two Test matches, was picked for that game and he showed what the Indian team had missed because earlier on in the first couple of Test matches India did not lose by big margins.”
IND vs SA: If he had been there today the story could have been completely different – Sunil Gavaskar on Ajinkya Rahane
Sunil Gavaskar emphasized that the Indian innings in the ongoing game could have been different if Ajinkya Rahane had been present. He highlighted Rahane’s overseas records and suggested:
“So maybe somebody with Rahane’s experience overseas… because Rahane overseas has been such a fine, fine player and maybe if he had been there today the story could have been completely different.”
India were tasked with batting first and found themselves struggling at 24/3. However, Virat Kohli (38) and Shreyas Iyer (31) provided a solid partnership to rescue the team. Following their dismissals, KL Rahul (70*) played a crucial innings to keep the team competitive. At Stumps on Day 1, India were 208/8.
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