Ajinkya Rahane has no qualms about “taking a backseat” now that Virat Kohli is back to leading India. Like an ideal deputy, Rahane looks forward to assist the skipper with his views and ideas whenever required as India get ready for the four-Test series versus England, beginning Friday in Chennai.
“Virat is the captain. He left from Australia due to family reasons, so that’s why I was the captain there. Originally, he’s the captain and I’m the vice-captain. So I’m very happy that he is back amongst us, which is really a positive sign,” Rahane said during a virtual media interaction on Wednesday.
“Look, my job is to take a backseat and try and help Virat. There are too many things on a captain’s mind. So as a vice-captain, you have to visualise the situation, think about what can happen in the game and then if the captain asks you for suggestions, you should be ready.
“So my job is really easy. Whenever required and whenever he asks me about anything, I’ll go and tell him. That helps us a lot.
“And for me, personally, I take a backseat whenever I’m the vice-captain.”
Kohli’s return means Rahane will again have to go down to No.5 in the batting order. But he seems to be in a good space regarding his batting.
“Yeah, a little bit of adjustment is needed (to bat at No.5). But at the moment, I am batting really well, and it’s all about what the team requires in a particular situation and batting accordingly.
“For me, it’s all about contributing to the team rather than thinking of my own performance. So yeah, I will give my 100 per cent in whatever the team requires from me at any given situation and I’m going to keep it simple,” Rahane said.
The high in Australia is history, Rahane categorically mentioned, also ruling out the possibility of complacency creeping into the side. By no means is Team India taking “a strong team” like England lightly. After all, the visitors do have some knowledge about Indian conditions, thanks to the IPL.
“We definitely play together a lot of matches in the IPL, but Test cricket is completely different. Lengths are totally different in Tests than in white-ball matches. Besides, whatever we might do in the IPL, it’s not that we share everything with them,” Rahane pointed out.
