KL Rahul Backs Ajinkya Rahane

Despite his recent struggles, India’s newly-appointed vice-captain KL Rahul has backed Ajinkya Rahane. However, he refused to reveal whether he will be playing the Boxing Day Test against South Africa. He said the final decision will be taken before the match.

Ajinkya Rahane’s competition is with Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari for the No 5 spot. While Cheteshwar Pujara is certain to play, it is the No 5 spot for which three batters are competing.

“It is a very very difficult decision. Ajinkya has played crucial knocks for India including the one in Melbourne or in Lord’s recently. He has been a key player for us. Shreyas has taken his chances. Hanuma has also done the same for us. We will have a chat about that today or tomorrow,” KL Rahul said.

Ajinkya Rahane is averaging 19.57 in his 12 matches in 2021
After slamming a scintillating hundred at the Boxing Day Test against Australia in 2020, Rahane has managed to hit only two fifties in 22 innings. During the same period, he has registered scores of 10 or less on 10 occasions Apart from his 67 and 61 in Chennai and Lord’s, Rahane’s next best outings saw him score 49, 37, and 35.