Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria believes that Ajinkya Rahane will succeed Virat Kohli as skipper in the longer format. In the absence of Virat Kohli, the deputy captain will lead the team in Kanpur for the opening Test match against New Zealand. In the following Test, Kohli will join the team.
Ajinkya Rahane will be by Rahul Dravid’s side as he prepares for his debut Test as the Indian team’s coach. Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane’s combination, according to Kaneria, would be terrific. As a result, he believes Kohli will only represent the team as a player in the future.
Virat Kohli
“Even if Virat Kohli comes in, I think he will play as a player at some stage. It is too early to say, but I think Ajinkya Rahane will continue (as captain). But for that to happen, Rahane has to score runs as well. That is very important.” Kaneria said
“This is a testing period for Ajinkya Rahane. No doubt he led the team well in Australia after a rough start, but the graph has gone downhill since then. Very important series for Rahane. The combination of Rahul Dravid and Rahane will be fantastic” Kaneria added
Ajinkya Rahane has guided the team to victory on numerous occasions. In Dharamshala, he guided the Indian side to victory over Australia in the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar series, securing the series. He also had an impressive comeback triumph in the United Kingdom earlier this year.
Rahane, Kaneria admits, needs to have some runs under his belt in order to keep his spot in the team. Especially considering players like Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and, to a lesser extent, Shubman Gill are vying for a berth in the middle order.
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