Veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane made a commendable comeback in Test Cricket with a half-century against Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. While the other big guns faltered, he scored 89 and 46 in both innings and ended the game as the highest scorer for India.
His consistent run helped him make his way back into the Indian dressing room after 18 months but his sudden elevation as Rohit Sharma’s deputy has been questioned by a host of former cricketers. The latest individual to join the bandwagon is former India captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
In a conversation with PTI, Ganguly found it extremely baffling that Ajinkya Rahane has been handed Test vice-captaincy after spending nearly 18 months on the sidelines. While he didn’t term Rahane’s ascendancy as a step backwards, he didn’t term it as a pragmatic decision.
“I won’t say it is a step backwards. You have been out for 18 months, then you play a Test and you become a vice-captain. I don’t understand the thought process behind it. There is Ravindra Jadeja, who has been there for a long time and is a certainty in Test matches, he is a candidate. But to just come back and straightway becomes vice-captain after 18 months, I don’t understand,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by PTI.
