Ajinkya Rahane reveals reason behind drop in Test averages of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and himself
Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara (Image Credit: Twitter)
Early this year, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the Indian Test team. They were dropped due to their failures with the bat for a considerable time. After a few months, Pujara made his comeback after performing in County Cricket. Also, he scored his Test hundred after a gap of 47 months. On the other hand, Rahane is playing First Class cricket for Mumbai.
Recently, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 winning skipper hit another double hundred in the ongoing game against Hyderabad. After the game, he was speaking to the media. One of the journalists asked a question about whether he will be able to make a comeback in the Indian Team. In reply, the right-hander has said that he hasn’t given up on the idea.
“One thing is for sure, I will never give up. For me, the dream is to still play for India,” said Rahane after scoring 204, laced with 26 fours and three sixes against Hyderabad, as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Our averages have gone down because of challenging wickets: Ajinkya Rahane
During the conversation, the former India Test team vice-captain was asked about the drop in average of some players. For context, the question was about the likes of Virat Kohli, Pujara, and Rahane, himself. To which, Rahane said the wickets have been challenging for batters in India for a middle-order batter.
“If we look at the averages, they have gone down because of the wickets because, as a batter, it is always challenging. For openers, it is easy, especially in India, when the ball is hard. When batters get out, we always think about what mistakes they are committing. But then No. 3-4-5—Pujara, Virat and me… all of our averages have gone down. So, I don’t think I was committing any mistakes. Yes, as a player, I always focus on where to improve, but every time we don’t commit mistakes, sometimes the wickets are such… it’s not an excuse, but that’s the reality. Everyone was watching, so they know what kind of wickets were prepared in India,” added Rahane.
