IND vs AUS: Ajinkya Rahane is a Fabulous & Aggressive Captain – Ian Chappell
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell expects that Ajinkya Rahane's "aggressive style" will suit the Indian team which would fancy its chances against Australia.
The former Australian captain Ian Chappell feels that Ajinkya Rahane is a ‘fabulous and aggressive captain’ who will step up and lead team India in the last 3-Tests of the most-awaited 4-Match series in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli will fly back to India after playing the first Test, starting from December 17 in Adelaide, to be with his wife Anushka Sharma who is going to give birth to their first child in January.
“Well, I saw him captain in one Test against Australia (in Dharamsala in March 2017) and found his captaincy to be fabulous. He was really an aggressive captain,” Chappell was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“I remember a couple of aspects of his captaincy. What stood out for me was in the Australian first innings, Warner was going well and getting on top of Indian bowlers. He brought in Kuldeep Yadav (debutant) and he dismissed Warner.
“The second thing I remember was India chasing a low total and they lost a couple of wickets. Rahane just came in and attacked the Australian bowlers and scored some 20 odd (38 off 27 balls). I liked that approach.”
“Look, as a captain, you always have two choices — one is the aggressive route and the other is a conservative approach. I have believed that in Test cricket aggressive approach is a must and Rahane is aggressive.”
Ian Chappell Calls Australia’s Top Order Biggest Concern
Chappell further said that David Warner’s absence in the 1st Test in Adelaide will be a plus point for the visiting side. The Australian star opener has ruled out of the 1st Test in Adelaide as he still needs to be fully fit before joining the squad. He is targeting a return for the second Boxing Day test in Melbourne.
“Everything that could have gone wrong with an opening has gone wrong. Warner is out and Joe Burns has been struggling. Look, Pucovski after another concussion, I don’t think it would be good to play him both in terms of confidence and medical point of view.”
“I think Australians will go with Joe Burns and Marcus Harris opening combination. I thought Cameron Green would have played in Sydney but after his century in the warm-up game and a couple of wickets that he picked, there may be a temptation to play him in Adelaide,” said the former Aussie captain.
