Ajinkya Rahane is blessed with a “smart brain” and should be able to lead India well against Australia in the three Tests with his controlled aggression, said Sachin Tendulkar.

Rahane will take over captaincy from Virat Kohli after the first Test in Adelaide as the latter will come back for the birth of his first child.

Sachin, having watched Rahane captain India against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017, is hopeful of a good show from him. “This is going to be slightly different. Having interacted with Ajinkya, I know he has a very smart brain and he is balanced,” Sachin said on YouTube.

What the icon likes is Rahane’s intensity and preparedness before any big series. “He’s aggressive, but it’s controlled aggression. Whatever time I have spent with him, I know he is a hardworking player,” Sachin said. “He takes nothing for granted.”

For Sachin, it’s always the process that matters. “Don’t be focussed on the result. Focus on the process and the results will follow.”

Even Kohli said he expects his deputy to do a “tremendous job” from the second Test and follow the “template” set by the team.

“Jinks (Rahane’s nickname) seems to be very composed and knows the strengths of our team and how we need to go about things. I feel this is his time to really step up and perform strongly as an individual and then captain as well,” Kohli said.